THE  SECRET  OF 
SUCCESSFUL  LIFE 

WILLIAM  W.  Mc  LANE 


LIBRARY  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT 


APR  11  1918 


A 

BV  4501  .M35  1918 
McLane,  William  W.  18A6- 

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1931. 

The  secret  of  successful 

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THE  SECRET  OF 
SUCCESSFUL  LIFE 

WILLIAM  W.  McLANE,  D.  D.,  Ph.D. 

Author   of  ''Evolution   in   Religion/'   etc. 


ARTIetV6RITAntt1 


BOSTON 

THE  GORHAM  PRESS 

MCMXVIII 


APR  II  ] 

%C/CAL  St 


Copyright,  1918,  by  Richard  G.  Badger 


All  Rights  Reserved 


MADE  IN  THE  UNITEH)  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


The  GpRHAM  PRE9S,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


PREFACE 

'Tp  HE  science  of  life  is  the  supreme  science.  The 
art  of  living  is  the  finest  of  fine  arts.  One  who 
knows  what  is  essentially  good,  and  gains  it,  and 
who  knows  also  what  is  of  permanent  value,  and  ac- 
quires it,  possesses  that  science,  and  practices  the  art 
of  living. 

Men  wish  success  in  life.  Men  seek  such  things 
as  gratify  desire,  save  from  suffering,  and  give  a 
sense  of  security  and  the  joy  of  possessing  power. 

One  who  studies  himself  must  know  that  his  real 
life,  his  pleasure  and  his  power  alike,  consists  in 
feeling,  affection,  thought,  desire,  choice,  and  power 
of  action.  What  adds  to  these,  increases  life ;  what 
lessens  these,  destroys  life. 

Whatever  will  make  a  man  normal  in  feeling, 
sweet  in  spirit,  pure  in  affection,  clean  in  imagina- 
tion, vigorous  in  thought,  wise  in  choice,  calm  in 
contentions,  serene  in  storms,  brave  in  danger,  pa- 
tient under  provocation,  resolute  in  disappointment, 
constant  in  purpose,  and  hopeful  of  the  future,  is  of 
extreme  value  in  the  promotion  of  life. 

"Know  thyself"  is  an  old  Greek  proverb.  One 
may  well  begin  to  learn  the  way  of  life  by  a  study 
of  himself.  Man  should  heed  his  deepest  hunger. 
He  should  give  hospitality  to  his  highest  desire.  He 
should  accept  and  cultivate  his  most  intimate  and 
enduring  relations. 

Man  is  a  soul.  He  has  a  body.  He  exists  in  re- 
lationship.    He  lives  in  a  state  whose  laws  are  bio- 


4  Preface 

logical   and   must   be   interpreted   by   the   action   of 
vital  laws. 

Fifty  years  ago,  an  eminent  teacher  of  theolog}^ 
was  accustomed  to  give  as  the  method  of  study  this 
formula:  "Is  there  a  God?  Has  God  spoken? 
What  has  God  said  ?"  A  more  modern  and  a  more 
scientific  method  of  procedure  would  follow  this 
method  of  inquiry:  "Is  there  a  man?  Has  man 
spoken — and  spoken  out  of  his  heart?  Has  an  an- 
swer come  to  man  from  the  heart  of  God?" 

Therefore,  in  the  following  pages,  the  reader  is 
directed  to  the  study  of  man  himself,  to  those  evi- 
dent laws  under  which  man  lives,  to  the  cry  of  the 
human  heart,  and  to  the  answer  which  has  come  and 
still  comes  to  that  cry. 

Human  life  viewed  in  various  aspects  is  a  pang, 
a  prayer,  a  promise,  and  a  prophecy. 

W.  W.  M. 

Leoniinstei',  Mass., 
January,  1918. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I  Hunger    9 

II  Bread    24 

III  Growth    39 

IV  Man's   Place   in    Nature 58 

V  Cooperation    79 

VI  The   Incarnation    94 

VII  The  New  Birth 117 

VIII  Love   as   an   Atmosphere 137 

IX  Faith    151 

X  Obedience    169 

XI  Neglect    186 

XII  Eternal   Life    202 


THE  SECRET  OF  SUCCESSFUL  LIFE 


The 
Secret  of  Successful  Life 


CHAPTER  I 

Hunger 

A  STONE  never  hungers.  A  stone  never  grows. 
"^Hunger  belongs  to  life.  The  quality  of  hunger 
is  an  index  of  the  grade  of  life. 

In  the  city  of  Naples,  on  the  shore  of  the  beauti- 
ful bay,  is  an  excellent  aquarium.  One  day,  in  this 
aquarium,  standing  by  a  glass  tank,  I  saw  in  the  wa- 
ter what  looked  like  fine  sea-weed  with  stem,  branch 
and  frond.  As  I  looked  with  admiration  on  this 
beautiful  form,  I  saw  one  slender  branch  and  then 
another,  touched  by  no  breath  of  air  or  wavelet  of 
water,  shoot  out  slowly  like  an  arm,  close  like 
a  hand,  and  then  draw  back  again  having  grasped 
something  which  was  invisible  to  me.  I  knew  by 
that  one  action  that  the  object  on  which  I  looked 
was  not  a  plant  but  an  animal.  That  one  act  re- 
vealed a  certain  dim  consciousness  and  automatic 
power,  lifted  the  seeming  plant  out  of  the  kingdom 
of  vegetable  life  into  the  kingdom  of  animal  life  and 
showed  to  me  its  kinship  with  birds  and  beasts  and 
even  with  myself.  I  had  found  a  remote  and  lowly 
cousin. 

On  the  shore  of  the  sea  at  low  tide,  one  may  see 

what  look  like  acorns  or  brown  buds  clinging  to  the 

rock.     When   the   tide   comes   in   bringing  delicate 

jelly  fish  and  atoms  of  animal  substance,  these  brown 

9 


lO  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

buds  open,  like  the  petals  of  a  flower,  and  throw  out 
tentacles  which  grasp  minute  portions  of  animal  sub- 
stance and  enclose  them,  giving  evidence  thereby 
that  they  feed  on  organic  matter,  as  animals  feed, 
and  not  on  inorganic  matter,  as  plants  feed.  The 
food  which  these  anemones  crave  and  eat,  indicates 
the  grade  of  their  life. 

Naturalists  say  that  the  first  expression  and  indi- 
cation of  animal  life  is  irritability  or  sensitiveness  to 
impressions,  as  a  hand  is  sensitive  to  a  substance 
which  may  be  touched,  or  as  an  eye  is  sensitive  to 
sunlight.  One  may  also  say  that  the  first  distinct 
consciousness  of  animal  life  is  hunger  and  that  the 
first  volitional  act  of  animal  life  is  search  for  food. 
That  old  woman  who  lying  on  her  death-bed  was 
asked  by  her  pastor  what  she  had  enjoyed  most  in 
life,  and  who  promptly  replied,  "My  vittles,"  ex- 
pressed the  basal  desire  and  the  primal  satisfaction 
of  every  animal.  Had  this  woman  risen  higher  dur- 
ing her  long  years  of  life,  she  might  have  stated 
something  other  than  "vittles"  as  giving  most  satis- 
faction; but,  in  any  event,  it  would  have  been  the 
gratification  of  some  hunger.  Hunger  is  the  first 
and  the  most  imperative  appetite  of  every  body. 
Hunger  is  the  first  and  most  permanent  passion  of 
every  mind.  The  gratification  of  hunger  by  ap- 
propriate food  is  the  condition  of  bodily  growth  and 
of  mental  development.  It  is  likewise  the  condition 
of  individual  satisfaction. 

If  the  plant-like  animal  which  I  saw  in  the  aquar- 
ium had  failed  to  find  food,  it  would  have  drooped 
and  died.     It  might  have  been  surrounded  by  min- 


Hunger  1 1 

eral  substances  on  which  plants  feed,  but  its  inherent 
incapacity  to  convert  mineral  substance  into  living 
tissue,  and  its  inability  to  find  its  own  kind  of  food, 
would  have  doomed  it  to  speedy  death. 

Every  living  creature  must  find  the  kind  and  the 
quality  of  food  upon  which  its  own  nature  may  feed 
and  be  satisfied  if  it  attains  perfection  and  even  if 
it  continues  to  live. 

Protozoa  which  multiply  by  gemination  or  divis- 
ion, hunger  simply  for  food;  with  food  supplied 
each  protozoan  reaches  the  limit  of  its  possibilities. 
But  in  all  higher  forms  of  animal  life,  the  sexual 
nature  desires  association  and  correspondence  with 
the  opposite  sex.  It  should  be  noted,  also,  that  there 
is  a  hunger  whose  source  is  not  in  the  body  but  in 
the  soul,  which  craves  not  physical  food  but  spiritual 
communion,  which  expresses  itself  in  the  longing  of 
love  and  which  is  satisfied  only  by  being  loved. 

In  the  animal  kingdom  below  man,  hunger  seems 
limited,  mainly,  to  those  desires  which  bear  relation 
to  the  preservation  of  the  individual  and  to  the  per- 
petuation of  the  species.  I  say,  mainly,  because 
there  is  some  love  of  beauty  and  of  music  to  be  found 
below  the  grade  of  mankind. 

Man,  however,  for  whom  many  definitions  have 
been  given,  may  be  described  as  a  hunger — growing, 
vast,  well-nigh  insatiable.  Hunger  is  the  spring  of 
the  manifold  activities  of  man.  Labor  is  performed 
and  endured  in  the  hope  that  some  hunger  may  be 
satisfied  by  labor's  product.  Some  may  think  that 
men  labor  to  give  outlet  and  expression  to  an  inher- 
ent energy,  but  until  men  have  acquired  a  habit  of 


The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 


work,  little  work  is  done  save  in  hope  that  there 
will  be  a  reward  in  some  personal  satisfaction.  Few 
persons  enjoy  solitaire.  The  zest  of  play  increases 
in  games  where  there  is  a  possibility  of  victory,  with 
its  accompaniment  of  praise.  Men  toil  for  bread, 
for  shelter,  for  the  comfort  of  pleasant  surroundings, 
for  the  gratification  of  esthetic  tastes  and  for  the 
means  of  securing  and  preserving  love.  The  lust  of 
possession,  of  place,  and  of  power,  has  incited  men 
to  adventure  and  to  war. 

What  a  history  of  labor,  warfare,  government, 
art,  literature,  and  religion  may  be  read  by  the 
traveler  in  the  ruins,  the  monuments,  the  buildings, 
and  the  present  products  of  men  around  the  Medi- 
terranean sea.  Men  have  invented  instruments  of 
labor;  they  have  fashioned  weapons  of  warfare; 
they  have  marched  in  phalanxes;  they  have  fought 
battles  for  possession  of  lands;  they  have  contended 
for  praise  of  men;  they  have  woven  garments  of 
beauty;  they  have  built  palaces  of  splendor;  they 
have  carved  statues  to  delight  the  eye;  they  have 
sung  songs  to  charm  the  ear;  they  have  written 
essays  and  have  printed  books  that  the  mind  might 
be  fed  both  with  fiction  and  with  truth;  they  have 
built  altars  and  temples ;  they  have  ordained  priests ; 
they  have  offered  sacrifices  and  conducted  religious 
rituals  that  the  troubled  conscience  might  have  peace 
and  the  struggling  soul  might  have  rest.  All  these 
manifold  forms  of  production  on  the  part  of  an 
inventive,  active,  and  aggressive  civilization  have 
been  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  the  hunger  of  the 
body  and  of  slaking  the  thirst  of  the  soul.     They 


Hunger  13 

have  been  wrought  in  order  that  the  life  of  which 
hunger  is  the  cry  might  be  complete. 

Sometimes  labor  has  been  misdirected ;  sometimes 
labor  has  been  expended  for  that  which  is  not  bread  ; 
sometimes  men  have  spent  their  gains  for  that  which 
has  not  satisfied ;  but  the  desires  have  been  most 
natural  and  the  effort  has  been  most  significant.  He 
would  be  a  singular  and  an  unscientific  man  who 
should  affirm  that  any  hunger  has  no  true  signifi- 
cance and  that  what  satisfies  hunger  may  be  a  lie. 
Hunger  is  fundamentally  a  cry  for  what  is  good ; 
and  that  which  really  satisfies  it  is  bread. 

Deep  in  the  heart  of  humanity  is  a  hunger,  per- 
manent and  persistent,  which  no  material  bread, 
no  physical  love,  and  no  human  ministry  can  satisfy. 
This  is  a  hunger  for  God.  It  is  a  longing  for  the 
presence,  the  help,  and  the  approval  of  the  living 
and  loving  God.  There  may  be  individual  men  who 
have  not  felt  this  hunger  or  who,  more  likely,  hav- 
ing felt,  have  not  understood  what  it  meant  and 
what  it  asked.  All  men,  however,  feel  dependence, 
weakness,  and  need.  Some  men,  like  a  hungry  child 
grasping  greedily  and  finding  that  which  is  not 
bread,  are  vainly  trying  to  satisfy  themselves  on 
material  things  and  to  renew  their  strength  from 
physical  sources,  only  to  find  at  last  that  they  are 
not  satisfied,  and  sometimes  to  find  that  what  they 
have  eaten  is  not  bread  but  poison. 

The  witness  of  generations  is  better  and  more 
trustworthy  than  the  opinion  of  individual  men. 
That  which  belongs  to  men,  as  men,  apart  from 
learning,    culture,   and   philosophical   reasonings,    is 


14  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

most  true.  The  native  instincts  of  the  heart  and 
soul  are  genuine  and  seek  after  reality.  Men,  as 
men,  feel  their  need  of  God.  Out  of  desert  places 
where  nomadic  tribes  wander,  is  the  cry,  "O  that 
I  knew  where  I  might  find  Him."  Out  of  the  for- 
est where  the  hunter  seeks  his  game,  out  of  the  sheep 
fold  where  the  shepherd  watches  his  flock,  out  of 
the  tent  where  the  soldier  prepares  himself  for  bat- 
tle, comes  the  cry,  "My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for 
the  living  God."  In  the  ancient,  oriental  Veda  one 
may  read :  "Thirst  came  upon  the  worshipper, 
though  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  waters."  Even 
out  of  the  waters,  the  thirsty  lifted  up  his  cry :  "O 
hear  this  my  calling,  Waruna,  be  gracious  now ; 
longing  for  help,  I  have  called  upon  Thee."  How 
suggestive  of  deep  spiritual  truth  is  this  language  of 
oriental  people!  Though  men  live  in  the  midst  of 
waters,  yet  there  is  thirst.  They  are  like  sailors 
sailing  or  shipwrecked  in  a  great  ocean  with  water 
all  about  them,  still  thirsting  because  that  water 
cannot  slake  thirst  nor  sustain  life,  still  crying  out 
for  the  fresh  water  which  the  clouds  of  heaven  may 
give  that  they  may  drink  and  live. 

This  en-  of  mankind  does  not  cease.  Whether  it 
is  expressed  in  a  sigh  or  in  a  song,  by  sacrifice  or  by 
prayer,  it  is  uttered  in  every  land,  it  is  heard  in 
every  language,  it  is  repeated  in  every  age. 

Dr.  Eastman  narrating  the  ways  of  his  people,  the 
American  Indians,  says:  At  dawn  an  Indian  will 
take  his  stand  alone  on  the  prairie  or  on  a  hilltop  and 
silently,  adoringly,  trustfully  lifting  his  face  towards 
the  sunrise,  will  seek  the  blessing  of  the  invisible 


Hung  €7-  15 


Spirit  of  life. 

On  Huntington  Avenue,  Boston,  in  front  of  the 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  is  a  bronze  statue  of  an 
Indian  sitting  on  a  barebacked  horse,  motionless,  si- 
lent, with  uplifted  face  craving  communion  with 
God.  This  statue  in  such  a  place  is  suggestive  of 
the  fact  that  to  the  modern  man  whose  product  is 
the  highest  art,  as  to  the  primitive  man  whose  frail 
products  soon  pass  away,  light,  inspiration,  skill, 
and  power  have  their  true  source  not  in  man  himself, 
but  in  the  creative  spirit  whom  we  call  God. 

As  we  trace  the  history  of  nations  recorded  on 
coins,  in  monuments,  and  in  literature,  we  find 
everywhere  the  symbols  and  the  record  of  religion. 
Images  of  deities  abound  ;  granite  temples  are  ex- 
humed from  the  sands  of  Egypt;  rude  stone  altars 
were  built  on  the  rocky  hills  of  Palestine ;  the  beau- 
tiful ruin  of  the  Parthenon  crowns  the  acropolis  of 
Athens ;  the  Pantheon  stands  in  the  heart  of  Rome ; 
stories  of  the  worship  of  the  Druids  adorn  the  classic 
page  of  Tacitus;  the  traditional  mythology  of  the 
Northmen  awakens  profound  interest ;  prayers, 
hymns,  and  discussions  of  the  deep  things  of  the  soul 
are  found  in  the  literature  of  the  farthest  East. 
Plutarch  has  said:  "If  we  traverse  the  world,  it  is 
possible  to  find  cities  without  walls,  without  letters, 
without  kings,  without  wealth,  without  coin,  with- 
out schools,  and  without  theatres;  but  a  city  with- 
out a  temple,  or  that  practiseth  not  worship,  prayers, 
and  the  like,  no  one  ever  saw." 

Writers  on  the  customs  of  primitive  men  tell  us 
that  though  such  men  are  likely  to  be  reticent  on 


1 6  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

the  subject  of  religion  and  their  manner  of  devotion, 
yet  they  have  found  no  tribe  without  some  sign  or 
emblem  of  worship.  The  signs  may  be  crude,  vague, 
and  even  vain;  but  they  are  there.  Modern  trav- 
elers would  seek  in  vain  for  a  land  where  there  is 
no  church  spire,  no  temple,  no  priesthood,  and  no 
worship.  All  missionary  propaganda  would  be  an 
utter  failure  were  there  nothing  in  the  mind  and 
the  heart  of  the  men  approached  to  respond  to  what 
the  missionaries  teach. 

All  the  most  important  events  among  civilized  na- 
tions are  sanctified  by  religious  ceremonies.  Mar- 
riage, birth  followed  by  circumcision  or  christening, 
the  burial  of  the  dead,  the  ritual  of  secret  societies, 
the  inauguration  of  governors  and  presidents,  the 
coronation  of  kings  and  emperors,  the  opening  of 
parliaments  and  international  conventions,  are  hal- 
lowed by  religious  rites.  Any  custom  which  per- 
sistently abides  among  men  has  some  reality  as  its 
basis  and  the  continuance  of  any  custom  is  evidence 
of  its  value  to  men. 

In  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in 
New  York  City  is  a  room  devoted  to  the  collec- 
tion of  musical  instruments.  These  instruments  are 
of  all  sorts  and  from  many  lands.  There  are  rude 
horns,  hollow  reeds,  wind  instruments  of  great  va- 
riety, stringed  instruments  with  two  or  more  strings, 
harpsichords,  old  pianos  and  drums.  A  man  who 
has  heard  the  best  of  pianos  played  by  Paderewski, 
the  finest  of  violins  played  by  Kreisler,  and  who  has 
listened  to  the  singing  of  Caruso,  may  find  no  mu- 
sic in  the  blast  of  a  ram's  horn,  in  the  shrill  notes 


Hunger  17 

of  a  rude  flute,  or  in  the  reverbations  of  a  drum; 
nevertheless,  these  rude  instruments  are  symbols  of 
a  musical  nature  and  a  visible  evidence  of  the  real- 
ity of  music  and  of  its  value  to  men.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  altars,  temples,  and  ceremonies  of  religion, 
however  crude  they  may  be,  are  mute  witnesses  to 
the  religious  nature  of  mankind. 

A  man  of  unbroken  health,  of  great  physical  ener- 
gy, of  constant  application  to  material  business,  and 
of  constant  success  therein,  possibly  may  feel  that 
religion  has  no  place  in  his  life  and  that  his  nature 
has  no  need  of  God.  I  say  "possibly,"  for  I  do  not 
know  that  there  is  such  a  man.  I  never  have  met 
him.  But,  if  there  is  such  a  man,  his  unawakened 
religious  nature  would  be  no  more  a  proof  of  the 
unreality  of  religion  than  the  lack  of  ear  and  of 
musical  sensibility  on  the  part  of  one  man  would  dis- 
prove music  as  a  feeling  and  as  an  art;  or  than 
colo^-  blindness  in  one  person  would  prove  the  ab- 
sence of  color  in  the  universe.  A  friend  of  one  of 
the  greatest  singers,  a  prima  donna  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, said:  "I  never  have  perceived  in  A —  the 
least  interest  in  the  higher  problems  of  mankind — 
in  science,  politics,  religion,  not  even  in  belles  let- 
tres/'  But  the  absence  of  interest  in  these  things 
on  the  part  of  one  woman  highly  gifted  in  one  art, 
did  not  remove  them  from  human  life,  or  lessen 
their  vital  interest  to  multitudes  of  men. 

Coins  are  an  evidence  of  commerce;  musical  in- 
struments are  symbols  of  the  musical  nature  of  men ; 
marriage  is  a  witness  of  man's  need  of  communion 
with  his  kind  in  the  mingltng  of  love  and  life;   re- 


1 8  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ligious  ceremonies  are  outward  and  visible  signs  of 
an  inward  craving  on  the  part  of  man  for  fellowship 
with  God.  Eucken  in  his  work  on  The  Problem  of 
Humanity  has  said :  "Life  assumes  the  character 
of  a  yearning  that  soars  above  everything  the  world 
has  to  offer."  A  modern  philosopher  has  said: 
"Not  to  feel  evils  is  the  greatest  of  all  evils." 

The  worst  lack  which  any  man  could  have,  would 
be  to  have  no  hunger.  Everywhere,  hunger  is  the 
primal  condition,  the  sine  qua  non  both  of  knowl- 
edge and  of  growth.  The  new-born  babe  instictive- 
ly  seeks  the  mother's  breast  and  through  that  breast 
finds  the  mother  to  be  the  fountain  of  life,  the 
shelter  of  love,  the  heart  of  comfort,  the  soul  of 
sympathy,  and  the  source  of  strength  through  needy 
years.  Beginning  with  physical  hunger  and  mate- 
rial supply,  a  babe  growing  to  manhood  learns  to 
know  the  mother's  heart  and  soul  through  the  rich 
supplies  of  her  love.  A  man  coming  to  the  period 
of  adolescence  finds  it  not  good  to  be  alone.  He 
hungers  for  the  love  of  a  mate.  He  finds  in  mutual 
love  which  issues  in  marriage,  one  of  the  chief  con- 
summations of  human  relationship. 

Now,  hunger  for  God,  a  hunger  which  craves  for- 
giveness when  there  is  consciousness  of  sin,  favor 
when  there  is  need  of  friendship,  strength  when 
there  is  weakness,  comfort  when  there  is  sorrow, 
and  hope  of  life  when  the  shadow  of  death  falls,  is 
the  one  great,  growing  hunger  in  the  heart  of  man 
which  no  bread  springing  from  earth  can  satisfy  and 
which  no  ministry  proceeding  from  human  hearts 
can  meet. 


Hunger  19 

John  Fiske  in  his  work,  Through  Nature  to  God, 
has  said:  "Of  all  the  implications  of  the  doctrine 
of  evolution  with  regard  to  man,  I  believe  the  very 
deepest  and  strongest  to  be  that  which  asserts  the 
everlasting  reality  of  religion."  Professor  Carpen- 
ter in  his  work  on  Mental  Philosophy  has  said : 
"The  only  sound  basis  for  religion  consists  in  man's 
own  religious  consciousness;  since  it  is  impossible 
that  any  revelation  should  make  a  man  religious 
whose  inner  nature  does  not  respond  to  its  teachings, 
as  that  any  instruction  should  make  a  man  a  mu- 
sician, who  has  not  a  musical  ear."  Saint  Augus- 
tine uttered  a  great  truth  when  in  addressing  God 
he  said:  "Thou  madest  us  for  Thyself  and  the 
heart  is  restless  till  it  rests  in  Thee."  It  is  true 
that  even  in  the  pursuit  of  religion,  men  may  spend 
their  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread  and  their 
labor  for  that  which  does  not  satisfy ;  but  the  pursuit 
evinces  the  hunger,  and  the  labor  shows  the  will- 
ingness of  men  to  make  effort  to  find  the  bread  of 
life.  In  the  thought  of  men  altars  are  a  way  of 
approach  unto  God,  sacrifices  are  means  of  securing 
divine  favor,  priests  are  agents  for  intercession,  pray- 
ers have  power  to  bring  divine  help.  Where  un- 
worthy means  of  approach  to  God  are  used,  or 
where  worthy  means  are  used  m  a  mistaken  mode, 
nevertheless,  they  attest  man's  conscious  need  of 
God.  Failure  in  the  means  or  in  the  method 
of  approaching  God,  may  suggest  the  necessity  of 
a  revelation  and  a  gift  of  grace  from  God  to  man 
in  order  that  there  may  be  true  knowledge,  pure 
worship,  and  eternal  life. 


20  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

No  man  will  know  himself  aright  or  gain  real 
success  in  life  unless  he  gives  heed  to  his  hunger.  A 
superficial  hunger,  which  is  some  craving  of  the 
flesh,  never  should  be  permitted  to  suppress  the  deep- 
er hunger,  which  is  a  craving  of  the  spirit.  The 
hunger  for  bread  which  comes  from  earth  never 
should  be  permitted  to  become  so  imperative  as  to 
make  one  forget  the  hunger  for  bread  which  comes 
from  heaven.  It  is  natural  for  a  babe  to  hunger  first 
for  the  milk  which  flows  from  a  mother's  breast ;  but 
it  would  be  pitiful  and  painful,  if  in  all  the  years  of 
life  a  child  never  should  hunger  for  the  love  which 
flows  from  a  mother's  heart.  That  child  would  be 
abnormal,  incomplete,  and  unworthy  who  never 
should  know,  or  trust,  or  be  grateful  for  a  mother's 
love.  It  is  natural  for  a  man  to  seek  that  bread 
which  will  satisfy  any  physical  or  mental  hunger; 
but  that  man  is  abnormal,  incomplete,  and  unworthy 
who  never  feels,  or  trusts,  or  praises,  the  love  of 
God. 

It  takes  air  as  well  as  water,  sunshine  as  well  as 
soil,  heaven  as  well  as  earth,  to  produce  a  flower 
with  fine  form,  vivid  color,  and  sweet  fragrance.  In 
like  manner,  it  takes  not  only  earth  and  men  but 
the  light  of  truth,  the  warmth  of  love,  and  com- 
munion of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  make  and  perfect 
a  man. 

You  will  do  irrevocable  injustice  to  yourself  and 
you  will  insure  failure  instead  of  success  in  life,  if 
you  do  not  heed  the  craving  of  your  heart,  give  place 
to  conscience,  and  obey  those  impulses  which  prompt 
you  to  seek  communion  with  the  living  God.   Many 


Hunger  21 


fail  not  by  the  choice,  at  first,  of  things  which  are 
wicked  and  worthless,  but  by  putting  things  good 
in  themselves  and  in  their  place  before  things  which 
are  better  and  which  are  essential  to  a  complete 
character.  By  the  choice  of  something  good  in  itself 
but  not  the  highest  good,  men  lose  the  best.  Many 
persons,  for  the  sake  of  something  which  they  wish 
very  much  at  the  time,  somether  the  cry  of  the  heart, 
silence  the  voice  of  conscience,  grieve  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  fail  of  eternal  life.  This  is  just  what 
Jesus  saw  and  against  which  he  warned  men.  Jesus 
bade  men  heed  the  deeper  things  of  their  own  nature 
and  put  the  higher  things  of  life  first.  He  charged 
men  not  to  make  material  good  a  matter  of  first  im- 
portance. He  warned  them  against  the  danger  of 
keeping  the  thought  fixed  on  things  to  eat  and  to 
wear.  He  called  them  to  seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  He  urged  them  to  love  and  to  do  good. 
He  commanded  them  to  trust  God.  He  assured 
them  that  the  things  needed  for  the  lower  life  would 
be  given  them.  He  said  that  the  higher  life  is  of  such 
value  to  the  world  and  of  such  worth  in  the  sight 
of  God  that,  as  the  lilies  are  clothed  in  beauty  and 
the  birds  are  bountifully  fed,  all  needed  supplies 
are  given  to  God's  spiritual  children. 

Men  err  by  reversing  the  order  of  Jesus.  Men 
place  the  demand  for  bread  for  the  body  first  and 
bid  the  soul  wait  till  a  later  time.  The  result  is 
that,  as  an  appetite  may  be  lost — an  appetite  for 
bread,  an  appetite  for  music,  an  appetite  for  love — 
so  the  hunger  and  the  desire  for  God  may  die.  This 
is  lamentable. 


22  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

A  moment's  thought  will  convince  you  that  man 
is  a  dependent  creature.  He  is  unable  to  live  with- 
out air,  unable  to  expand  in  thought  without  the 
touch  of  other  minds,  unable  to  become  complete 
without  love. 

The  life  of  a  man  absolutely  depends  on  some 
power  greater  than  himself  and  greater  than  his 
fellow  men.  And  where  should  the  creature  of  a 
day  rest  rather  than  upon  the  Eternal?  Where 
should  the  weak  seek  and  find  strength  rather  than 
in  the  Strong?  Where  should  the  imperfect  look 
for  completion  rather  than  to  the  Source  of  perfec- 
tion? Where  should  he  whose  life  so  easily  fails 
turn  for  immortality  rather  than  to  Him  whose  life 
is  self-existent  and  everlasting? 

And  where  else  should  God  who  is  a  spirit  in 
essence  and  love  in  quality,  deign  to  dwell  rather 
than  in  the  human  heart?  If  God  is  in  the  universe 
creating,  keeping,  clothing,  and  beautifying  things 
inanimate,  things  without  intelligence,  without  con- 
science, without  love  which  can  never  know  Him 
and  never  love  Him,  how  much  more  should  He 
dwell  lovingly  and  graciously  with  human  souls 
which  feel  their  need  of  Him  and  which  give  Him 
love  and  praise?  "Neither  stars,  nor  sea,  nor  smil- 
ing nature  hold  God  so  intimately  as  the  bosom  of 
the  soul."  In  the  soul  itself,  a  sense  of  dependence, 
of  emptiness,  of  yearning  for  approval,  of  longing 
for  favor  and  love  may  grow  into  a  great  hunger 
which  voices  itself  in  the  language  of  the  psalmist: 
"As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so 
panteth  my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God."     The  testi- 


Hunger  23 

mony  of  those  who  have  thus  cried,  in  all  ages,  is  to 
the  effect  that  God  hears  the  cry  of  the  hungry, 
answers  the  need  of  the  distressed,  impresses  the  kiss 
of  forgiveness  upon  the  contrite,  and  renews  the 
strength  of  the  soul  which  waits  on  Him. 

The  witness  of  all  past  generations  agrees  in  the 
instruction  given  to  the  men  of  each  succeeding  gen- 
eration. 'Tut  thou  thy  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  be 
doing  good;  leave  off  from  wrath,  and  let  go  dis- 
pleasure, else  shalt  thou  be  moved  to  do  evil.  Com- 
mit thy  way  unto  the  Lord  and  put  thy  trust  in 
Him.  He  shall  make  thy  righteousness  as  clear  as 
the  light,  and  thy  just  dealing  as  the  noonday." 

Jesus  teaches  that  hunger  is  the  condition  of  sat- 
isfaction; that  humility  is  the  condition  of  exalta- 
tion; that  poverty  is  the  condition  of  possessing 
wealth.  Let,  then,  a  sense  of  sin  impel  you  to  seek 
forgiveness;  let  a  sense  of  weakness  lead  you  to  the 
source  of  strength;  let  sorrow  find  a  fountain  of 
comfort;  let  fear  of  death  lead  you  to  Him  who 
gives  eternal  life.  Any  condition  or  circumstance  in 
-life  which  awakens  a  longing  for  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  for  communion  with  Him  is  a  blessing. 
The  history  of  mankind,  personal  experience,  and 
the  deep  sense  of  need  in  the  heart  itself,  all  assert 
man's  dependence  upon  God  unto  whom  man's  de- 
sire should  flow.  Therefore,  in  making  an  inven- 
tory of  your  assets,  do  not  fail  to  include  your 
hunger.  That  of  all  things  may  prove  the  condition 
of  a  perfect  life.  Jesus  has  said:  ''Blessed  are  they 
that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness;  for  they 
shall  be  filled." 


CHAPTER  II 

Bread 

A  FEW  years  since,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on 
"^^One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Fifth  Street,  in  a 
hall  used  for  an  exhibit  of  the  effects  of  tuberculosis 
and  the  means  of  its  prevention,  was  a  sign  with  this 
inscription:  "You  can  live  three  weeks  without 
bread;  you  can  live  three  days  without  water;  you 
can  live  three  minutes  without  air."  This  sign  was, 
approximately,  correct  in  its  time  measurements;  it 
was  entirely  correct  in  its  truth.  A  man  may  live  a 
little  longer  without  bread  than  without  air;  but 
bread,  as  well  as  air,  is  essential  to  the  continuance 
of  life. 

Ben  Akbar  halted  his  camel  in  the  desert  whither 
he  had  wandered  apart  from  his  caravan.  He  lifted 
his  eyes  and,  faint  from  hunger  and  thirst,  looked 
longingly  over  the  billowy  sands  glowing  like  gold 
in  the  level  rays  of  the  slowly  sinking  sun.  The 
strength  of  his  camel  was  spent  and  Ben  Akbar 
knew  that  his  own  thirst  would  leave  him  prostrate 
and  dying  before  another  day  would  close.  He  sur- 
veyed the  horizon,  sweeping  almost  the  entire  cir- 
cumference of  the  visible  circle  without  seeing  any 
sign  of  life.  He  was  ready  to  surrender  himself  to 
certain  death  when,  in  the  southeast,  he  saw  dimly 
against  the  sky,  dark  tufts  which  his  keen  eye  knew 
to  be  the  crest  of  palm  trees.  Ben  Akbar  with  a 
glad  heart  urged  his  weary  beast  forward  encour- 
24 


Bread  2$ 

aging  him  with  a  voice  of  hope.  As  the  sun  sank 
and  twilight  deepened,  he  arrived  at  an  oasis  with 
its  fountain  of  water,  its  palms,  and  its  fruit.  Ben 
Akbar  dismounted  from  his  kneeling  camel,  threw 
himself  prostrate  in  prayer,  and  then  lifting  his  eyes 
heavenward  in  gratitude  exclaimed,  "Allah,  I  thank 
Thee."  He  had  found  the  water  and  the  bread 
which  would  sustain  life. 

On  the  plains  of  Egypt,  I  have  seen  lines  of  veiled 
women  wending  their  way  to  streams  fed  from  the 
Nile  to  find  water  for  their  daily  need.  The  trav- 
eler in  Palestine  may  see  women  leaving  a  village 
and  ascending  a  hill  where  there  is  a  spring,  or 
descending  into  a  valley  where  there  is  a  well,  to 
draw  water  for  household  use. 

One  of  the  most  pathetic  sights  in  a  great  city 
is  a  bread  line  of  men  out  of  work,  standing  at  the 
hour  of  midnight  by  a  great  bakery  to  receive  the 
loaf  of  bread  offered  each  man  in  line.  Many 
things  these  men  may  do  without.  Bread  they 
must  have,  or  die.  Shelter  may  be  of  the  slightest, 
clothing  may  be  of  the  poorest,  and  in  some  climates 
these  could  be  dispensed  with  altogether;  but  bread 
men  must  have.  Bread  and  water  are  necessaries. 
They  are  the  indispensable  substances  on  the  table 
of  the  poor.  They  are  the  essence  of  every  feast  on 
the  table  of  the  rich.  The  most  sumptuous  banquet 
may  be  varied,  beautifully  decorated,  highly  colored, 
and  finely  flavored ;  but,  in  its  base,  it  is  just  bread 
and  water. 

There  are  other  men  athirst  besides  travelers  who 
like  Ben  Akbar  thirst  in  a  desert.     There  are  other 


26  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

lines  of  needy  women  besides  those  who  seek  water  in 
Eg}Pt  or  Palestine.  There  are  other  lines  of  men 
quite  as  impressive  and  as  significant  as  the  bread 
line  at  midnight  in  a  great  cit}*. 

The  long  lines  of  pilgrims  to  Benares,  to  Mecca, 
and  to  Jerusalem;  the  lines  of  men  and  women 
threading  the  streets  to  the  cathedrals  of  Rome, 
Milan,  and  Paris;  the  lines  of  worshippers  filing 
into  churches  in  cities,  towns,  and  villages  on  Sun- 
day, are  suggestive  and  significant.  All  these  peo- 
ple are  seeking  something.  They  are  seeking  some- 
thing for  the  soul.  It  may  be  said  that  worshippers 
frequently  have  beeen  ignorant ;  that  they  have  been 
superstitious ;  that  their  conceptions  of  the  Deit}'^ 
have  been  gross ;  that  the  means  they  have  used 
to  obtain  a  blessing  have  been  fanciful  and  fictitious, 
and  all  this  may  be  granted ;  but  a  conscious  want 
was  there.  They  have  sought  after  God.  They 
have  sought  ignorantly,  if  you  please,  but  they  have 
sought  after  God.  if  haply  they  might  find  Him.  The 
ignorance  and  the  darkness  have  been  in  them  and 
not  in  God.  But  surely  it  is  want  and  the  search 
and  the  cr>'  which  God  sees  and  knows  and  answers. 
Doubtless  many  an  ignorant  worshipper  whose  soul 
has  felt  its  deep  need,  has  been  supplied  with  the 
grace  which  has  ministered  to  his  life.  Many  a 
man  who  knew  not  God  intelligently  will  know, 
ultimately,  that  in  reality  he  had  found  Him.  God 
saw  the  need  and  heard  the  cr>'  and  answered.  A 
mother  does  not  wait  for  clear  intelligence,  correct 
language,  and  a  courteous  request  before  she  will 
answer  the  cry  of  her  child.     Though  the  child  be 


Bread  27 

but  an  infant  crying  in  the  night,  "and  with  no 
language  but  a  cry,"  yet  the  mother's  ear  will  hear, 
her  heart  will  answer,  and  her  hand  will  help.  If 
God  should  make  clear  knowledge,  correct  language, 
and  good  form  the  conditions  of  answering  the  need 
of  such  as  seek  Him,  then,  His  love  would  be  less 
than  a  mother's. 

Tehan,  the  Indian,  speaking  of  his  foster  mother 
whose  breast  had  been  his  refuge,  whose  teepee  had 
been  his  home,  and  who  had  thrown  her  own  garment 
around  his  shivering  body,  when  in  the  cold  winter 
their  teepee  had  been  burned  and  they  had  been 
driven  into  the  wild  by  cruel  white  men,  said  of  his 
hopes  for  her  who  worshipped  the  Great  Mystery, 
impelled  thereto  because  she  felt  her  dependence  and 
longed  for  help,  "I  cannot  believe  that  the  hunger 
of  the  heart  is  made  for  famine,  but  rather  that  a 
divine  hand  will  stoop  to  satisfy." 

If  the  vision  of  the  seer  of  Patmos  is  true,  if 
tribes  of  every  language  worship  around  the  throne 
of  God,  then,  thus  far  in  the  world's  history,  God 
must  have  been  hearing  the  cry,  answering  the 
prayer,  and  supplying  the  need  of  all  who  in  sincerity 
have  called  upon  Him.  What  are  land,  language, 
form  of  expression,  and  intellectual  conception  even 
in  comparison  with  the  inner  spirit  of  craving  and 
of  devotion,  of  faith  and  of  hope.  A  psalmist  has 
said  with  exquisite  truth:  "The  Lord  is  nigh  unto 
all  them  who  call  upon  Him,  to  all  that  call  upon 
Him  in  truth."  Surely  this  is  in  keeping  with  in- 
finite love.  Religion  would  not  remain  in  the  world 
did  it  not  bring  relief  to  the  troubled  conscience 


28  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  renewal  of  strength  to  the  fainting  heart. 

Worshippers  in  Christian  churches  who  continu- 
ally seek  to  commune  with  God  would  be  both  ig- 
norant and  foolish  if  year  after  year  and  generation 
after  generation  they  continued  a  practice  which 
affords  no  benefit. 

Men  pursue  nothing  else  which  yields  no  pleas- 
ure and  no  profit.  Granted  that  education  from 
childhood,  habit,  and  social  concourse  may  have 
some  influence  in  maintaining  churches  these  alone 
would  not  suffice  for  their  continuance.  People  do 
not  go  to  church  for  entertainment,  they  can  find 
that  better  elsewhere.  They  do  not  go  for  intellec- 
tual gain;  the  intellect,  now  has  many  means  of 
gaining  enjoyment  and  information.  They  do  not 
go  for  social  pleasure,  they  can  enjoy  their  friends 
more  elsewhere.  The  question  often  is  asked,  ''Why 
do  men  not  go  to  church?"  The  question  had  bet- 
ter be  asked,  "Why  do  men  go  to  church?"  There 
is  no  other  institution  in  country,  village,  and  city 
which  holds  its  place  so  continually  and  so  firmly  as 
the  Christian  church.  It  is  because  the  soul  is 
strengthened  and  the  heart  is  fed  that  people  attend 
the  services  of  the  church.  People  who  hunger 
gather  around  a  table  and  eat  and  know  that  their 
strength  is  renewed.  People  who  are  disheartened 
by  adversity,  hear  the  promise  of  some  able  person 
to  come  to  their  relief,  and  discouragement  passes 
away  and  hope  fills  the  heart.  People  who  love  mu- 
sic frequent  a  concert  and  listen  to  music  and  their 
souls  are  satisfied.  In  a  like  manner,  people  find 
that  the  worship  of   God   and  the  promises  of  his 


Bi-ead  29 

word  revive  faith,  love,  and  hope  in  the  heart,  and 
that  waiting  on  the  Lord,  they  renew  their  strength 
and  are  satisfied.  This  experience  is  as  real  as  any 
other  experience  in  life.  Any  man  who  thinks  for  a 
moment  knows  well  that  faith,  love,  and  hope  are 
the  great  inner  motives  of  the  soul.  What  lessens 
them,  makes  a  man  weak;  what  strengthens  them, 
makes  a  man  strong.  The  response  which  comes  to 
the  man  who  waits  upon  God  is  a  response  which  re- 
news a  man's  strength. 

The  Christian  Bible  also  answers  to  the  need  of 
man.  It  is  a  book  much  of  which  needs  an  inter- 
pretation; but  it  is  a  book  whose  revelation  of  di- 
vine love  is  so  plain,  whose  promises  are  so  definite, 
and  whose  precepts  are  so  practical  that  it  affords 
comfort,  hope,  and  guidance  to  every  man  who  be- 
lieves. The  bible  is  not  the  same  book  to  every 
man.  The  bible  of  one  man  may  be  bound  in  Rus- 
sian leather,  with  flexible  back,  gilt  edges,  and  fair 
pages  as  clean  as  when  it  came  from  the  bindery.  To 
that  man,  the  bible  is  ancient  history  and  Jesus  is  a 
tradition.  The  bible  of  another  man  may  have  a 
broken  back,  thumbed  pages,  many  pencil  marks  and 
the  blisters  of  tears.  To  that  man  the  words  of 
the  bible  have  been  spirit  and  life.  Through  that 
book,  some  soul  has  found  the  fountain  of  living 
water,  some  heart  has  found  the  bread  of  life.  The 
bible,  like  a  well-spread  table,  affords  to  every  age 
its  appropriate  food.  From  its  pages,  according  to 
the  time  of  life  and  the  need  of  the  heart,  youth, 
manhood,  and  age  find  instruction  and  inspiration 
and  comfort. 


30  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

Jesus  has  said  that  he  who  drinks  at  an  earthly 
fountain  will  thirst  again,  but  that  he  who  partakes 
of  the  living  water  will  find  it  to  be  in  himself  a 
continual  source  of  refreshment  and  of  power.  They 
who  have  tried  it  have  found  Jesus'  words  true. 

We  already  have  noticed  that  the  lack  of  any 
hunger  or  desire  for  certain  things,  such  as  music 
or  marriage,  on  the  part  of  some  persons  does  not 
disprove  the  existence  of  that  hunger  in  other  per- 
sons nor  invalidate  the  reality  of  the  source  of  its 
gratification.  What  is  common  to  men  everywhere, 
what  is  found  among  all  races,  what  exists  in  all 
conditions  must  be  a  reality,  even  though  there  may 
be  some  individuals  who  know  nothing  of  it.  It 
is  more  just  to  call  such  individuals  abnormal  than 
to  call  the  great  mass  of  mankind  abnormal.  The 
hunger  of  the  soul  for  spiritual  light,  love,  and 
guidance,  and  the  cry  of  the  soul  for  God  are 
evinced  by  all  sacred  monuments,  by  all  liturgies, 
by  all  private  devotions,  and  by  the  sacred  scenes 
and  sayings  of  all  literature. 

Let  it  be  noted  that  in  the  course  of  nature,  there 
is  no  hunger,  beneath  the  hunger  of  the  soul  for 
God,  which  does  not  find  its  appropriate  bread. 
There  is  food  to  fill  every  physical  hunger,  beauty 
of  form  and  color  to  delight  and  satisfy  the  eye, 
music  to  charm  the  ear,  truth  to  sustain  the  mind, 
friendship  to  gratify  craving  for  companionship, 
domestic  love  to  rest  the  heart.  Some  creatures  may 
be  born  without  common  desires  or  without  the 
organs  to  gratify  those  desires,  or  they  may  fail  to 
find  what  their  nature  craves,  but  these  are  excep- 


Bread  31 

tional  creatures,  defective  or  unfortunate.  The 
normal  rule  of  nature  is  that  every  hunger  finds  its 
food.  Shall,  then,  the  deepest  hunger  of  man  have 
no  corresponding  bread?  Shall  the  highest  desire 
of  the  human  soul  remain  unsatisfied?  That  would 
be  a  mockery  of  man  so  unspeakable  and  so  disas- 
trous that  for  its  existence  man  never  could  forgive 
nature  or  nature's  Creator.  God  himself  must  an- 
swer the  hunger  of  the  soul. 

It  is  true  that  some  persons  want  a  God  who 
provides  chiefly  for  the  body.  Some  are  yet  in  the 
religious  state  of  the  primitive  Israelites  to  whom 
promises  of  food,  rainment,  and  material  prosperity 
were  of  primal  value.  Some  are  babes  in  the  life 
of  the  spirit.  Some  are  only  children  in  the  higher 
life.  But  in  the  things  of  the  spirit,  as  well  as  in 
the  things  of  the  mind,  the  highest  character  must 
be  the  best  example  of  the  true  nature  and  the  nor- 
mal possibilities  of  man. 

Jesus  promises  three  things  to  men.  They  shall 
know  the  Father;  they  shall  be  free;  they  shall 
have  power.  They  shall  know  God  as  the  source  of 
the  most  perfect  purity  and  the  most  permanent 
peace.  They  shall  be  free  from  bondage  to  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  the  customs  of  worldly  society,  and  the 
domination  of  things.  They  shall  have  power  to 
overcome  evil,  to  exercise  self-control,  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  and  to  gain  greatness  of  character.  The 
annals  of  Christian  history  contain  a  catalogue  of 
a  legion  of  men  who  have  been  set  free  from  sen- 
suality, like  Augustine;  from  timidity,  like  Peter; 
from  self-righteousness,  like   Paul;    from  love  of 


32  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

pleasure,  like  Francis  of  Assisi.  The  number  who 
have  been  exalted  in  affection,  purpose,  and  power, 
like  Livingston,  "Chinese"  Gordon,  William  Booth, 
and  many  more  would  make  an  army.  Let  me  has- 
ten to  say  that  for  every  man  who  becomes  distin- 
guished and  known  as  a  Christian  hero,  there  are 
scores  and  thousands  who  in  spirit  find  the  same 
experiences  and  attain  equal  greatness  of  character, 
but  whose  position  is  such  that  their  names  are  not 
published.  Their  names,  however,  are  written  in 
The  Book  of  Life.  It  requires  heaven  as  well  as 
earth,  sky  as  well  as  soil,  sunshine  as  well  as  mineral 
substance,  to  produce  and  to  perfect,  physically,  any 
life  in  this  world.  It  is  most  natural,  therefore,  that 
it  should  require  heaven  as  well  as  earth  to  perfect 
a  man,  and  that  which  makes  a  man  complete,  is 
indeed  bread. 

Jesus  gives  a  threefold  description  of  bread  for  the 
soul.  In  contrast  with  bread  which  springs  from 
earth,  he  calls  it  Bread  from  Heaven.  In  contrast 
with  every  fair  but  false  bread  by  which  men  try  to 
satisfy  the  soul,  he  calls  it  True  Bread.  In  contrast 
with  every  bread  which  leaves  men  to  hunger  again 
and  again,  he  calls  it  Living  Bread  and  Bread  of 
Life. 

The  soul  of  man  must  live  by  life.  Man  needs 
the  light  of  a  living  personality  to  guide;  he  needs 
the  warmth  of  personal  love  to  quicken  and  expand 
his  affections;  he  needs  the  comfort  of  personal  com- 
panionship to  cheer  and  sustain ;  he  needs  the  per- 
sonal inspiration  of  a  divine  presence  and  power  to 
make  him  perfect.     All  that  men  need  is  revealed, 


Bread  33 

manifested,  and  mediated  to  men  in  Jesus,  the 
Christ.  He  is  the  perfection  of  spiritual  truth, 
the  fulness  of  love,  the  source  of  inspiration.  He  is 
indeed  the  bread  of  life. 

Jesus  gives  to  men  who  believe  in  Him  a  vivid 
conception  of  God's  love  and  care,  sweet  submission 
to  God's  will,  cheerful  obedience  to  God's  laws,  rest 
in  God's  love,  communion  with  God's  strength, 
abiding  hope  in  the  fulness  and  constancy  of  God's 
goodness,  and  rich  experience  of  God's  grace.  The 
spiritual  inspiration  and  fulness  of  life  which  Jesus 
gives,  keeps  the  moral  intelligence  clear,  the  con- 
science keen,  the  will  strong,  love  ardent,  courage 
constant,  and  hope  bright.  The  man  who  is  thus 
fed,  is  made  sufficient  for  the  conditions  and  the 
changes  and  the  duties  of  life.  In  such  a  man  faith, 
hope,  and  love  ever  abide. 

Jesus  says:  "If  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he 
shall  live  forever."  Professor  Drummond  has  said: 
"One  of  the  most  startling  achievements  of  recent 
science  is  a  definition  of  Eternal  Life."  Science 
postulates  eternal  life  as  depending  upon  perfect 
correspondence  with  an  eternal  environment.  Sci- 
ence, however,  knows  no  way  of  obtaining  such 
correspondence.  Science  cannot  give  eternal  life.  Sci- 
ence knows  only  those  things  which  in  themselves 
are  subject  to  change.  Science  may  indeed  suggest 
the  need  of  some  eternal  life  with  which  man  may 
come  into  correspondence,  but  it  has  no  means  of 
discovering  or  of  revealing  such  a  life.  It  is  only 
spirit  which  can  know  spirit,  and  spiritual  things 
must  be  spiritually  discerned.     Hence  the  necessity 


34  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

of  man's  consulting  his  own  soul  to  know  its  needs 
and  trusting  his  soul's  instincts  to  find  some  source 
of  supply  for  his  needs.  Jesus  has  given  the  com- 
pletest  answer  to  the  hunger  of  man's  heart.  Jesus 
reveals  an  eternal  Spirit  and  shows  the  way  of  eter- 
nal life.  Jesus  says:  "This  is  life  eternal,  that  they 
might  know  Thee  the  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ 
whom  Thou  has  sent."  The  knowledge  of  God  is 
used  by  Jesus  in  the  Hebrew  sense  of  the  term.  This 
is  knowledge  based  on  personal  experience  derived 
through  communion.  It  is  knowledge  of  the  soul 
rather  than  of  the  intellect,  of  the  affections  rather 
than  of  the  reason.  But  it  is  knowledge  none  the  less 
true.  This  knowledge  to  him  who  possesses  it,  is 
eternal  life. 

All  life  in  this  world  is  conditioned  both  as  to 
its  growth  and  as  to  its  continuance.  No  form  of 
life  will  grow  without  food — without  an  influx  of 
that  which  sustains  it.  This  is  true  of  the  body,  of 
the  mind,  and  of  the  affections.  The  body  must 
eat  to  live ;  the  mind  must  find  truth  to  be  strong ; 
the  heart  must  dwell  in  love.  Who  could  remain 
loving  if  there  were  no  person  in  all  the  universe  to 
love  him?  The  continuance  of  any  life  depends 
on  its  ability  to  keep  in  correspondence  with  that 
which  maintains  it.  A  man  in  the  course  of  time 
loses  his  power  to  feed  upon  the  things  of  earth. 
Science  and  Scripture  both  affirm  that  visible  and 
tangible  things  are  subject  to  change  and  will  pass 
aw^ay.  The  present  form  of  the  universe  will  pass. 
If  a  man  could  continue  in  correspondence  with  it, 
nevertheless,  he  would  at  last  cease  to  be.    Jesus  has 


Bread  35 

said  that  a  soul  may  be  in  such  correspondence  with 
God  who  "hath  immortality"  that  it  may  live  for- 
ever. Saint  John,  the  interpreter  of  Jesus,  has  said : 
"The  world  passeth  away  and  the  lust  thereof,  but 
he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  forever." 
That  is  to  say,  both  the  outward  form  of  visible 
things  and  the  inward  desire  for  them  are  transient 
and  must  pass;  but  God  abides  and  the  desire  for 
Him  uniting  the  soul  to  Him  in  holy  communion 
in  love  gives  to  man  the  condition  of  eternal  life. 

There  is  a  quality  of  life  belonging  to  the  believer 
in  Christ  which  in  its  disposition,  desires,  and  ex- 
pression is  superior  to  any  form  of  life  below  it. 
This  life  is  called  spiritual.  It  resembles  a  life  of 
morality,  but  greatly  differs  from  it.  A  man  may  be 
moral  from  selfishness;  he  can  be  spiritual  only  by 
love.  Eternal  life  differs  from  a  merely  moral  life,  as 
love  which  is  altruistic  differs  from  love  which  is  sel- 
fish, as  generosity  differs  from  exchange,  as  devotion 
differs  from  duty,  and  as  the  life  of  Jesus  differed 
from  certain  men  of  his  time  who  trusted  in  them- 
selves that  they  were  righteous,  and  despised  others. 

The  men  who  gathered  about  Jesus  and  became 
his  disciples  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  change  which 
comes  to  men  in  the  reception  of  spiritual  life.  The 
disciples  when  they  first  came  to  Jesus  were  good 
men  in  the  usual  acceptance  of  goodness.  But  it 
required  a  great  change  to  bring  them  into  such 
companionship  with  Jesus  as  made  them  men  of  like 
spirit  to  Him.  At  the  first  they  believed  in  Jesus 
as  a  deliverer  from  certain  social  and  political  con- 
ditions rather  than  as  a  giver  of  spiritual  life.    They 


36  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

looked  for  his  kingdom  to  come ;  but  it  was  to  be  a 
kingdom  of  political  power  and  dominance  existing 
for  Israel  and  not  for  the  world.  They  wished 
for  themselves  places  in  that  kingdom,  but  places 
for  their  own  honor.  Selfishness  rather  than  love 
was  dominant.  They  would  keep  children  from  the 
presence  of  Jesus;  they  would  silence  the  cry  of 
a  troubled  woman ;  they  would  send  hungry  multi- 
tudes away ;  they  would  call  down  fire  of  vengeance 
upon  an  offending  village. 

They  prayed  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom,  but 
a  kingdom  for  themselves.  These  men,  under  the 
tuition  of  Jesus,  were  greatly  changed.  They  re- 
ceived the  words  of  Jesus  and  found  them  to  be 
spirit  and  life.  They  fed  upon  Jesus  and  found 
Him  to  be  living  bread.  They  learned  to  love  as 
Jesus  loved,  condescendingly,  generously,  serviceably. 
They  received  freely,  they  gave  freely.  They  ob- 
tained power,  they  used  power  beneficently.  Their 
patriotism  expanded  into  philanthropy , Tines  of  racial 
demarcation  disappeared ;  obligation  to  men  was 
measured  by  opportunity  and  power;  they  lived, 
like  the  Master,  to  do  good.  They  received  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  and  were  uplifted,  transformed,  and 
made  children  of  the  Highest.  They  lived  in  com- 
munion with  God ;  they  ministered  to  men  in  love ; 
they  rejoiced  in  the  life  eternal. 

Christianity  is  not  a  higher  morality,  though  it 
gives  higher  standards  of  morality.  Christianity  is 
a  loftier  faith  and  a  purer  love.  Christianity  is  a 
disposition,  a  desire,  a  purpose,  a  setting  of  the  will, 
an    efflorescence    of    goodness,    a    rich    fruitage    of 


Bread  37 

righteousness.  "The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance."  Christianity  is  a  quality  of 
soul  which  is  beautiful  in  the  sight  of  God. 

There  are  conditions  and  experiences  common  to 
saint  and  sinner  alike  as  long  as  they  are  in  the 
world,  but  there  are  differences  in  the  saint  and  the 
sinner  in  relation  to  the  things  which  are  common 
to  both.  Temptation  comes  to  the  saint  as  to  the 
sinner;  but  the  saint  gains  a  victory;  to  him  temp- 
tation is  opportunity;  he  faces  a  stairway  which 
leads  upward.  Trouble  comes  to  the  saint  as  to 
the  sinner;  but  the  saint  has  comfort;  to  him 
trouble  finds  a  center  of  inward  peace.  Sorrow 
comes  to  the  saint  as  to  the  sinner ;  but  the  saint  has 
comfort;  his  sorrow  is  followed  by  joy.  Victory, 
peace,  comfort,  and  joy  are  Christian  experiences. 

Strength  of  soul  which  comes  by  faith  and  which 
expresses  itself  in  love;  strength  which  makes  the 
will  firm  and  which  keeps  hope  constant;  strength 
which  comforts  the  heart  and  gives  joy  to  the  spirit 
is  as  real  an  experience  in  human  life  as  is  strength 
which  comes  to  a  hungry  and  thirsty  man  when  he 
drinks  and  is  refreshed,  and  eats  and  is  renewed. 

All  that  any  man  needs  in  order  to  know  the 
reality  of  heavenly  bread  and  the  certainty  of  eternal 
life  is  to  partake  of  that  bread  and  to  lead  that  life. 
The  conscious  life  of  any  man  is  his  real  life.  What 
a  man  experiences,  he  knows.  What  a  man  has  in  him- 
self, he  possesses.  We  may  say,  now,  with  the  same 
assurance  as  men  who  wrote  in  the  first  Christian 
century:     "We  know  whom  we  have  believed.    We 


38  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 


know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life.  We 
know  that  we  are  children  of  God.  We  know  God 
and  knowing  Him  we  know  that  we  have  eternal 
life." 


CHAPTER  III 

Growth 

npHE  frost-ferns  on  my  dining  room  windows 
'*•  formed  as  by  fairy  fingers  on  a  cold  night,  rival 
in  beauty  the  flowers  on  my  table;  but  they  lack 
color  and  fragrance,  and  are  soon  gone. 

The  frost-ferns  on  a  window  pane  of  a  winter 
morning  are  formed  of  small  particles  of  water  de- 
posited upon  the  glass  and  frozen  together.  The 
ferns  in  a  forest  are  formed  of  particles  of  mineral 
substance  which  have  been  changed  by  a  vital  force 
into  living  tissue  and  woven  together  from  within. 
The  former  increase  by  accretion;  the  latter,  by 
growth.  The  former  is  inorganic,  the  latter  is  or- 
ganic. The  substance  of  the  former  is  held  in  place 
by  adhesion  and  will  dissolve  at  the  touch  of  the  sun. 
The  substance  of  the  latter  is  pervaded  by  a  myste- 
rious force  called  life  and  must  die  before  it  can 
be  dissolved.  The  former  may  be  formed  in  a  night 
and  dissolved  in  a  day.  The  latter  is  the  result  of 
a  long  process  of  growth,  and  will  endure  so  long 
as  the  vital  force  endures.  The  element  of  time 
and  of  transformation  both  belong  to  a  living  entity. 
No  living  thing  is  perfect  in  its  inception.  Perfec- 
tion is  the  result  of  a  process  of  growth. 

Teachers  of  religious  truth  have  been  singularly 

blind  to  this  scientific  fact.     They  have  taught  that 

man  was  created  originally  perfect.     They  have  also 

taught  that  a  renewed  man  might  suddenly  become 

39 


40  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

perfect.  The  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith 
states  the  theological  opinion  which  was  long  cur- 
rent in  respect  of  man  in  these  words:  "After  God 
made  all  other  creatures,  he  created  man,  male  and 
female,  with  reasonable  and  immortal  souls,  endued 
with  knowledge,  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  af- 
ter his  own  image."  And  of  the  renewed  man,  the 
Shorter  Catechism  says:  ''The  souls  of  believers 
are,  at  their  death,  made  perfect  in  holiness,  and  do 
immediately  pass  into  glory." 

A  man  of  scientific  turn  of  mind  accustomed  not 
to  lay  down  preconceived  propositions  but  to  look 
candidly  for  facts  which  present  themselves  to  the 
mind  might  ask,  "How  can  a  creature  be  created 
complete  in  knowledge  which  is  an  acquire- 
ment, or  perfect  in  holiness  which  is  an 
achievement?"  He  might  also  ask,  "How 
can  a  soul  become  perfect  in  holiness  by  vir- 
tue of  the  fact  of  death,  which  is  the  separation  of 
the  soul  from  the  body,  even  though  that  soul  passes 
into  glory?" 

Until  recently,  teachers  of  religion,  like  teachers 
of  philosophy  and  of  literature,  were  not  scientific. 
Their  method  was  not  inductive.  They  laid  down 
propositions  based  often  on  literal  statements  of  the 
scriptures  and  then  sought  to  maintain  them  against 
all  disputants.  They  did  not  compare  carefully 
either  the  statements  of  the  scriptures  or  their  own 
statements  with  the  facts  of  nature  and  of  life  and 
so  they  misunderstood  God  and  misinterpreted  man. 

This  habit  of  mind  may  be  illustrated  by  the  fol- 
lowing incident.     In  looking  through  a  theological 


Growth  41 


library  at  one  time,  I  found  an  old  book  containing 
this  statement:  "When  God  created  trees,  they 
were  perfect  and  crowned  with  ripe  fruit ;  for  God 
would  not  make  any  incomplete  thing." 

This  statement  of  a  private  individual  may  serve 
to  illustrate  the  difference  between  the  ancient  me- 
chanical theory  and  the  modern  vital  theory  of  cre- 
ation. God  is  continually  making  trees  before  the 
eyes  of  men,  but  God  never  makes  a  tree  in  the  man- 
ner described  by  this  author.  The  trunk  and  branch 
and  blossom  and  fruit  of  a  tree  are  all  the  result  of 
growth.  What  God  does  is  this.  He  infuses  a 
force  which  we  call  life  into  an  atom  of  matter,  and 
the  growth  of  a  tree  is  the  result.  But  to  our 
author,  this  was  not  a  matter  of  any  moment.  Like 
theologians  of  a  past  period,  commonly,  the  author 
started  with  a  certain  conception  of  God  and  with 
an  assumed  principle  of  his  action  and  with  these 
mental  concepts  he  constructed  a  system  of  creation, 
a  process  of  history,  and  a  doctrine  of  final  things.  A 
perfect  man  as  the  head  of  the  human  race  was  a 
part  of  this  system.  A  moral  disaster  on  the  part 
of  this  man  involving  the  character  and  moral 
standing  of  all, men  was  one  chief  fact  of  human 
history.  This  fact  made  necessary  the  gracious  re- 
lation of  God  to  men  which  is  revealed  in  the  gospel 
and  made  possible  the  salvation  which  men  thereby 
attain. 

But  man,  as  we  know  him,  starts  life  in  infancy, 
a  creature  undeveloped  and  incomplete  in  body, 
mind,  and  character.  However  the  first  man  may 
have  come  to  be,  to  the  scientific  mind,   he  must 


42  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

have  begun  life  in  mental  infancy  and  in  moral 
childhood.  Knowledge  is  the  result  of  learning. 
Moral  character  is  the  result  of  choice  and  achieve- 
ment. Sinlessness  on  the  part  of  a  first  man,  even 
though  he  be  the  head  of  a  race,  would  not  mean 
holiness.  Sinlessness  is  negative.  Holiness  is  pos- 
itive. Holiness  is  the  result  of  temptation  resisted, 
good  chosen,  and  righteousness  attained.  A  first 
man,  as  much  as  any  of  his  descendants,  if  he  is  to 
possess  the  heavenly  life,  must  have  the  illumination 
of  heavenly  light,  the  quickening  warmth  of  heav- 
enly love,  and  the  inpiring  power  of  the  heavenly 
Spirit.  Jesus  has  said:  "Except  a  man — [not  a 
bad  man  only,  but  a  man] — be  born  from  above,  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Whatever  might  take  place  in  a  hypothetical 
world,  in  the  world  as  we  know  it,  perfection  of 
any  kind  comes  through  growth.  Man  is  no  excep- 
tion to  this  rule.  Man  differes  from  creatures  be- 
low him  only  in  the  potencies  of  his  nature  and  the 
possibilities  of  his  character. 

The  growth  of  man  is  conditioned  upon  hunger, 
made  possible  by  bread,  and  accomplished  by  accept- 
ing bread  and  by  assimilating  it.  Bread  is  absolutely 
essential  to  growth.  Trees  grow  by  absorbing 
chemical  substances,  by  transforming  them,  by  assim- 
ilating them,  and  by  adding  cell  to  cell  until  trunk, 
branch,  and  leaf  are  complete.  An  animal  body 
grows  in  a  similar  way.  Bread  is  absorbed,  trans- 
muted into  blood,  assimilated,  added  to  the  cellular 
substances  of  the  body  and  converted  into  tissue 
of  muscle  and  nerve  until  the  body  attains  its  full 


Growth  43 


physical  perfection. 

Mental  growth  is  similar.  A  body  in  a  vacuum 
would  die.  A  mind  isolated  and  kept  apart  from  all 
things  with  which  a  mind  may  hold  commerce  and 
communion,  would  never  grow.  We  scarcely  can 
conceive  of  its  continuance.  But  as  the  mind  stim- 
ulated by  its  inherent  hunger,  puts  forth  effort  and 
through  the  eye  sees  and  through  the  hand  feels 
material  things,  and  remembers  their  form  and 
quality,  it  gains  in  power  of  seeing,  feeling,  and 
knowing  things.  As  a  mind  responds  to  other  minds 
which  appeal  to  it,  as  a  mother's  glance  and  smile 
and  voice  appeal  to  a  baby,  the  mind  grows.  The 
vision  becomes  more  clear,  discernment  more  keen, 
grasp  more  firm,  judgment  more  accurate,  memory 
more  retentive,  reason  more  subtle,  and  the  power 
of  the  will  more  absolute  and  constant.  All  methods 
of  education  from  the  nursery  to  the  kindergarten, 
from  the  public  school  to  the  university  prove  this 
truth. 

A  mind  with  little  hunger  and  with  little  spon- 
taneous action  never  will  become  a  great  mind. 
Why?  Because  it  is  too  feeble  to  feed,  therefore  it 
cannot  grow.     A  great  mi^nd  follows  growth. 

As  it  is  with  the  mind,  so  it  is  also  with  the  moral 
nature.  Deeper  and  more  important  than  the  intel- 
lectual preception  and  comprehension  of  things  is 
the  feeling  which  is  entertained  in  respect  of  relation 
to  persons.  A  sense  of  the  presence,  a  consciousness 
of  the  individuality,  and  a  regard  for  the  rights  of 
other  persons  are  both  a  cause  and  a  consequence  of 
social  converse  with  other  persons.     Even  language 


44  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

testifies  to  this  fact.  A  boor  is  a  rustic  whose  lonely 
life  has  left  him  rude  so  that  the  roughness  of  his 
nature  grates  on  sensitive  souls.  A  civil  man  is  a 
civeSj  a  citizen,  whose  daily  intercourse  with  other 
persons  has  smoothed  away  the  roughness  of  his 
nature  and  made  him  an  agreeable  companion.  The 
polite  man  and  the  urbane  man,  as  the  words  indi- 
cate, have  acquired  refinement  of  manner  and  gra- 
ciousness  of  speech  from  dwelling  in  a  city.  The 
courteous  man  has  acquired  his  pleasing  bearing 
and  address  from  frequenting  a  court  graced  by 
kingly  presence. 

The  spiritual  nature  of  man,  which  is  his  inner 
disposition  especially  in  relation  to  the  spirit  of  the 
universe  which  we  call  God,  grows  by  communion 
with  those  qualities  of  God,  however  they  may  be 
revealed,  which  evoke  love  of  spiritual  goodness  and 
greatness.  Appreciation  of  truthfulness,  reverence 
of  holiness,  love  of  goodness  grow  by  feeding  upon 
those  qualities  until  the  soul  is  enamored  of  them 
by  long  gazing  upon  their  sweet  lovliness.  Wor- 
ship which  is  waiting  upon  God  and  thinking  upon 
His  majesty,  power,  goodness,  and  grace  until  the 
soul  is  aglow  with  adoration,  faith,  and  love,  is  one 
chief  means  of  spiritual  growth.  Only  men  who 
thus  waited  in  contemplative  worship,  could  have 
produced  the  finest  psalms  and  the  loftiest  ascrip- 
tions of  praise  found  in  the  psalms  and  the  prophe- 
cies of  the  Old  Testament.  The  contemplation  of 
the  glory  of  God  as  exhibited  in  the  heavens,  of  his 
goodness  as  shown  in  the  constant  beneficence  of 
nature,  of  his  grace  as  revealed  in  Jesus,  tends  to 


Growth  45 


evoke  such  qualities  of  reverence  and  gratitude  and 
faith  as  make  the  soul  strong  in  its  adherence  to 
righteousness. 

A  physical  nature  feeds  upon  material  food,  a 
musical  nature  feeds  upon  music,  an  esthetic  nature 
feeds  upon  beauty,  and  a  religious  or  spiritual  nature 
feeds  upon  spiritual  excellence.  We  love,  because 
we  first  are  loved.  This  the  writers  of  the  Bible  un- 
derstood when  they  used  such  expressions  as  the  fol- 
lowing: "O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good." 

"Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the 
waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money ;  come  yt,  buy 
and  eat.  Hearken  diligently  unto  me  and  eat  ye 
that  which  is  good."  So  Jesus,  also,  speaks  of  bread 
and  water  of  life. 

A  soul,  like  a  mind,  will  grow  by  that  upon  which 
it  feeds.  A  mind  which  concerns  itself  with  the 
science  of  mathematics  will  think  in  terms  of  mathe- 
matics. A  mind  which  thinks  upon  commercial 
values  and  measures  every  thing  by  such  values,  will 
become  commercial  in  its  tone  and  thought.  A  mind 
which  thinks  upon  things  political  will  become  a 
political  mind.  A  mind  which  thinks  of  moral 
values  will  grow  morally  judicious.  In  like  manner, 
a  soul  which  feels  the  impress  of  moral  excellence 
and  beauty  will  grow  more  sensitive  to  moral  qual- 
ities. A  soul  which  dwells  in  love  and  feels  love's 
embrace  will  grow  loving.  A  soul  which  contem- 
plates mercy  will  grow  merciful.  A  soul  which, 
dwells,  voluntarily,  in  an  atmosphere  of  envy,  hate, 
and  revenge  will  grow  unmerciful,  unloving,  and 
cruel. 


46  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

Jesus  recognized  this  fact  in  his  method  of  teach- 
ing. He  revealed  to  his  disciples  the  character  of 
the  Father  who  is  merciful  to  the  ill-deserving,  kind 
to  the  unthankful,  and  gracious  to  them  who  believe 
and  obey  Him.  Jesus  bade  them  be  like  the  Father. 
Their  character  would  be  formed  by  contemplation 
of  the  divine  character.  They  would  grow  into  the 
likeness  of  God  by  the  worship  of  God. 

That  which  Jesus  prescribed  to  his  disciples  as  the 
method  of  growth  has  been  abundantly  shown  in  his- 
tory to  be  the  way  by  which  men  have  grown.  Je- 
hovah gave  Moses  a  vision  of  Himself  upon  a  mount 
when  He  passed  by  and  proclaimed  Himself  "the 
Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering, 
and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth."  Moses  hav- 
ing seen  the  vision  and  heard  the  voice,  returned  to 
the  base  of  the  mount  with  a  shining  face  and  with 
a  loving  heart  which  bore  in  patience  the  rebellious 
children  of  Israel.  Jehovah  gave  to  Isaiah  in  the 
temple,  a  vision  of  his  holiness.  Isaiah  beholding  the 
vision  was  first  conscious  of  his  own  unclean  lips, 
next,  sensible  of  pardon  and  peace,  and  then,  will- 
ing to  go  forth  and  call  Israel  to  repentance  and 
righteousness.  The  vision  of  Jesus  which  Saul 
beheld  on  his  way  to  Damascus  first  filled  Saul  with 
fear  and  then  with  faith.  Having  seen  a  vision  of 
Jesus  whom  he  persecuted,  Saul  was  willing  to  be 
led  by  Jesus  in  a  long  life  of  sacrifice  and  service. 

Saint  Augustine  whose  remarkable  experience  of 
deliverance  from  sin  and  from  doubt,  and  whose 
confirmation  in  faith  and  righteousness  made  him 
a  most  remarkable  witness  to  the  transforming  pow- 


Growth  47 


er  of  divine  grace,  has  given  a  beautiful  testimony 
of  the  power  of  God  both  to  save  and  to  satisfy 
the  soul.  Augustine  has  said:  *'Too  late  loved  I 
Thee,  O  thou  beauty  of  ancient  days.  Thou  wert 
with  me,  but  I  was  not  with  Thee.  Things  held 
me  far  from  Thee.  Thou  didst  call  and  shout  and 
burst  my  deafness.  Thou  didst  flash,  shine,  and 
scatter  my  blindness.  Thou  didst  breathe  odors,  and 
I  drew  in  breath,  and  pant  for  Thee.  I  tasted  and 
I  hunger  and  thirst  for  Thee.  When  I  shall  with 
my  whole  self  cleave  to  Thee,  I  shall  nowhere  have 
sorrow  or  labor;  and  my  life  shall  wholly  live  as 
wholly  full  of  Thee."  Again  Augustine  says:  "Not 
with  doubting  but  with  assured  consciousness,  do  I 
love  Thee,  Lord.  But  what  do  I  love,  when  I, 
love  Thee?  Not  the  beauty  of  bodies,  nor  the  fair 
harmony  of  time,  nor  the  brightness  of  light  so 
gladsome  to  our  eyes,  nor  sweet  melodies  of  varied 
songs,  nor  the  fragrant  smell  of  flowers  and  oint- 
ments and  spices,  not  manna  and  honey,  not  limbs 
acceptable  to  the  embracements  of  flesh.  None  of 
these  do  I  love  when  I  love  my  God ;  and  yet  I  love 
a  kind  of  light,  a  kind  of  melody,  a  kind  of  frag- 
rance, a  kind  of  meat,  a  kind  of  embracement,  when 
I  love  my  God, — the  light,  the  melody,  the  frag- 
rance, the  meat,  the  embracement  of  the  inner  man: 
where  there  shineth  unto  my  soul,  what  spaces  can- 
not contain,  and  there  soundeth,  what  time  beareth 
not  away,  and  there  smelleth,  what  breathing  dis- 
perseth  not,  and  there  tasteth,  what  eating  dimin- 
isheth  not,  and  there  clingeth,  what  satiety  divorceth 
not.    This  is  it  which  I  love  when  I  love  my  God." 


48  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

Augustine's  intellectual  opinions  in  the  matter  of 
theological  thought,  were  sometimes  remote  from 
modern  thought,  but  his  spiritual  experiences  of 
divine  love  and  grace  were  true  for  all  time.  As 
Augustine's  body  had  found  delight  and  satisfaction 
in  the  light,  beauty,  melody,  fragrance  and  food  of 
nature,  so  did  his  soul  find  delight  and  satisfaction 
in  the  light  and  love  and  grace  of  God. 

There  is  provided,  in  this  universe,  food  for  the 
soul  as  well  as  food  for  the  body.  But  there  is  a 
difference  between  food  in  its  relation  to  physical 
being,  and  food  in  its  relation  to  spiritual  being. 
The  difference  is  this:  A  physical  nature  transforms 
the  food  which  it  receives  into  substance  like  itself; 
a  spiritual  nature  is  transformed  by  the  food  which 
it  receives.  Sheep  and  cattle  and  horses  feeding  in 
the  same  pasture  and  drinking  of  the  same  brook 
change  the  grass  and  water  into  the  substance  of 
sheep  and  cattle  and  horses.  The  quality  of  food 
eaten  by  a  physical  body  determines  only  in  a  small 
degree  the  quality  of  that  body.  Coarse  food  can- 
not make  a  fine  body  coarse,  nor  fine  food  make  a 
coarse  body  fine,  save  in  a  very  limited  degree.  But 
the  spiritual  food  upon  which  a  soul  feeds  will  make 
that  soul  something  worse  or  better  than  it  was  by 
nature.  A  boy  whose  hero  is  a  bully  will  become 
like  a  bully;  a  boy  whose  hero  is  truly  brave,  will 
become  brave.  A  girl  whose  goddess  is  Venus  will 
become  vain;  a  girl  whose  goddess  is  the  Virgin 
Mary  will  become  a  humble  handmaid  of  the  Lord 
to  do  his  will. 

A  man  or  a  nation  will  grow  like  that  which  is 


Growth  49 


worshipped.  The  Greeks  loved  physical  beauty  and 
adored  divinities  of  physical  perfection.  The  Greeks 
in  art,  in  bodily  form,  and  in  manners,  aimed  to 
produce  physical  perfection ;  but  the  Greeks,  in  mor- 
als, fell  below  some  ruder  nations.  The  Romans 
worshipped  power.  Jove  and  Mars  were  mighty  in 
the  thought  of  Rome.  The  Romans  framed  laws, 
organized  armies,  and  established  and  maintained  an 
empire  by  force.  Some  modern  nations  worship 
wealth  and  excel  in  methods  of  gaining  wealth  rath- 
er than  in  the  practice  of  morality.  That  which 
men  regard  as  the  highest  good  will  inspire  both 
their  thought  and  their  action,  and  so  determine 
character. 

It  is  well  said,  in  every  sense,  that  a  man's  re- 
ligion is  the  chief  fact  in  regard  to  him,  Thomas 
Carlyle  has  said:  "The  thing  a  man  does  practic- 
ally lay  to  heart,  and  know  for  certain,  concerning 
his  vital  relations  to  this  mysterious  universe,  and  his 
duty  and  destiny  there,  that  is  in  all  cases  the  pri- 
mary thing  for  him,  and  creatively  determines  all 
the  rest.  That  is  his  religion."  What  a  man  wor- 
ships— thinks  of  as  best,  adores,  loves  and  would 
possess — is  the  most  important  thing  in  the  forma- 
tion of  character. 

One  has  caricatured  the  saying,  "An  honest  man's 
the  noblest  work  of  God,"  by  the  sentence,  "An 
honest  God's  the  noblest  work  of  man."  But  man 
never  has  made  an  honest  god.  Every  god  of  whom 
man  is  the  creator  has  borne  so  great  likeness  to  man 
himself  that  he  has  proved  immoral.  No  deity  of 
all  the  pantheon  of  the  pagan  world  has  been  able  to 


50  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

endure  in  the  presence  of  the  God  and  Father  of 
Jesus.  Only  the  God  who  has  revealed  himself  in 
the  person  of  Jesus  endures  as  the  supreme  object 
of  men's  worship.  The  worship  of  that  God  alone, 
can  make  men  perfect. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  as  man  improves  him- 
self, his  conception  of  God  improves,  and  therefore 
the  God  of  Christian  people  is  the  product  and  re- 
sult of  man's  growing  morality.  But,  historically, 
this  is  not  true.  Man  did  not  become  holy  first  and 
then  think  of  God  as  holy.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
there  came  to  man,  in  some  way,  the  revelation  and 
the  command  of  God,  saying,  "Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am 
holy."  The  history  of  the  Old  Testament  makes 
plain  the  fact  that  a  holy  God  as  the  object  of  wor- 
ship was  the  source  of  improvement  in  the  spirit  and 
in  the  morals  of  the  Hebrew  race.  When  the  He- 
brew people  worshipped  some  other  god  than  Je- 
hovah, they  always  declined  in  morals. 

The  history  of  Christianity  proves  even  more 
clearly  than  Hebrew  history  that  the  order  of  de- 
velopment is  from  God  to  man  and  never  from  man 
to  God.  The  disciples  of  Jesus  did  not  become 
holy,  loving,  large-minded,  merciful,  and  gracious  to- 
wards all  men;  and  then  conclude  that  God  is  like 
that.  No !  It  was  a  new  conception  of  God  which 
changed  the  conception  of  the  disciples  in  respect  of 
themselves,  their  relation  to  other  men  and  their 
duty  to  the  Gentile  world.  Their  theology  deter- 
mined their  sociology.  That  has  been  the  order  of 
growth  ever  since. 

It  was  the  fact  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  per- 


Growth  51 


sons,  revealed  to  Peter,  that  made  him  willing  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  Roman  captain,  Cornelius, 
and  to  baptize  him.  It  was  the  fact  that  God  had 
made  of  one  blood  all  nations,  that  impelled  Paul 
to  regard  all  nations  as  worthy  to  receive  the  gos- 
pel of  divine  grace.  It  was  conviction  of  the  fact 
that,  in  the  divine  judgment,  "There  is  neither  Jew 
nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female,"  that  made  Paul  welcome 
to  equal  privileges  the  slave,  Onesimus,  and  his  mas- 
ter, Philemon ;  receive  to  equal  privilege  Aquila 
and  his  wife  Priscilla;  and  give  the  right  hand  of 
Christian  fellowship  to  his  Jewish  countrymen  and 
to  the  Roman  soldiers  of  Caesar's  household.  It 
was  the  fact  that  God  loved  men  with  a  love  which 
would  make  sacrifice  to  save,  as  exemplified  in  the 
life  and  death  of  Jesus,  that  made  the  apostles  will- 
ing to  become  martyrs  and  to  lay  down  life  itself 
if,  thereby,  men  might  be  saved.  Had  the  disci- 
ples believed  that  Jesus  was  only  a  man,  like  them- 
selves, and  that  he  had  died  an  involuntary  death  as 
a  victim  of  Jewish  fanaticism,  they  never  would 
have  been  constrained  to  accept  death  so  willingly. 
In  that  case,  neither  the  death  of  Jesus  nor  their 
own  death  would  have  had  any  appreciable  effect 
upon  the  character  and  destiny  of  men.  Martyr- 
doms— of  which  there  had  been  many — until  the 
time  of  Jesus,  had  not  made  men  holy  nor  loving. 

It  is  true  that  as  centuries  have  passed  and  an 
increasing  number  of  men  have  become  Christians, 
the  moral  standards  of  society  generally  have  risen 
and  the  standards  of  Jesus  have  been  measurably 


52  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

adopted.  But  it  is  not  true  that  because  society 
has  been  growing  better,  the  conception  of  God 
has  risen.  The  reverse  of  this  is  true.  A  better 
understanding  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  and  of  the 
character  of  God  as  revealed  in  Him,  has  preceded 
the  higher  moral  teachings  and  the  more  Christ- 
like character  of  men.  Were  this  not  the  case  and 
were  the  increasing  goodness  of  men  the  cause  of  the 
worship  of  a  holier  God,  then  the  New  Testament 
ought  to  have  been  replaced  by  this  time  by  a  better 
text  book ;  then,  higher  and  holier  teachings  of  the 
character  of  God  than  those  of  Jesus  ought  to  have 
been  given;  then,  Jesus  Himself  ought  to  have  been 
supplanted  by  a  more  divine  Messiah.  But  this 
has  not  happened.  Two  things  are  very  significant 
as  well  as  very  true.  Men  still  refer  to  Jesus  as 
the  supreme  teacher  of  spiritual  and  moral  truth 
and  confess  that  the  God  whom  Jesus  reveals  is 
worthy  of  the  holiest  worship,  the  most  ardent  love, 
and  the  most  devoted  service.  Men  who  drift  away 
from  Jesus  and  his  teachings,  commonly  deteriorate 
in  spirituality  and  in  morals. 

Another  great  fact  is  worthy  of  notice.  The 
number  of  men  who  worship  a  holy  God  and  who 
follow  a  loving  life  is  increasing  in  the  world,  yet, 
in  the  thought  of  men,  God  is  no  more  holy,  faith  is 
no  more  firm,  love  is  no  more  fervid,  devotion  to 
duty  is  no  more  complete,  and  character  is  no  finer 
with  modern  men  than  with  some  men  of  the  first 
Christian  century.  Men  have  not  passed  beyond 
the  teaching  of  Jesus  who  said :  "Ye  therefore  shall 
be  perfect,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect." 


Growth  53 


Jesus  is  the  first  and  the  final  teacher  of  men  in 
the  sphere  of  the  spirit.  They  who  follow  him 
with  believing  mind,  trustful  spirit,  and  obedient 
will,  are  disciples  in  the  school  of  Christian  living. 
Their  own  experience  tests  and  proves  the  great 
fact  that  the  words  of  Jesus  are  spirit,  and  that  he 
himself  is  bread  of  life. 

The  conditions  of  growth  ought  to  be  carefully 
noticed  and  complied  with.  Jesus  lays  emphasis 
on  disposition  as  the  primary  condition  of  learning 
and  of  growth.  His  blessings  are  for  "the  poor  in 
spirit,"  "the  meek,"  "the  merciful,"  "the  pure  in 
heart,"  and  for  such  as  "hunger  for  righteousness." 

The  purpose  and  the  practice  of  life  are  of  essen- 
tial value  in  the  estimation  of  Jesus.  "Every  one 
that  doeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to 
the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved."  "He 
that  doeth  truth,  cometh  to  the  light."  One  who 
would  grow  must  be  willing  to  put  away  evil  and  to 
cultivate   good. 

Jesus  calls  attention  to  sincerity  of  heart  and 
obedience  of  will  as  necessary  to  growth.  Jesus 
says:  "If  any  man  willeth  to  do  his  will,  he  shall 
know  of  the  teaching  whether  it  be  of  God." 
"Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is 
in  heaven,  he  is  my  brother,  and  sister  and  mother." 

The  effort  of  Jesus  is  to  touch  the  inner  springs 
of  emotion  and  action.  He  is  more  concerned  with 
feeling  than  with  intelligence.  He  knows  that 
life  is  fed  and  trained  by  life.  Jesus  spoke  to  men 
in  parable  and  in  picture  and  tried  to  lift  their  minds 
from  the  knowledge  of  what  is  best  in  men  to  what 


54  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

is  good  in  God.  Jesus  never  pointed  men  to  the 
"fixed  laws"  of  nature  to  instruct  them  in  regard  to 
what  they  might  expect  of  God.  Jesus  ever  point- 
ed men  to  the  promptings  of  love  and  bade  them  find 
the  ways  of  God  who  is  a  spirit  in  the  way  of  the 
spirit  of  man. 

If  Jesus  would  encourage  men  to  pray,  he  told 
them  of  an  unjust  judge  who  avenged  a  widow  who 
came  continually  to  him  for  justice,  avenging  her 
because  of  her  insistence ;  of  a  neighbor  who  would 
rise  at  midnight  and  give  bread  to  his  friend  because 
of  his  need  and  importunity;  of  a  human  father 
who  would  not  give  a  stone  to  a  child  who  asked 
bread ;  and  of  the  fact  that  the  Father  in  heaven 
knows  men's  need  before  they  ask  him.  He  empha- 
sized God's  willingness  to  answer  prayer  by  assert- 
ing that  "much  more"  than  men,  God  will  hear 
and  see  and  know  and  answer  prayers  by  giving 
good  gifts. 

Jesus  instructed  men  in  a  knowledge  of  the  mer- 
ciful and  gracious  ways  of  God,  that  men  may  both 
depend  on  his  mercy  and  become  themselves  merci- 
ful. Jesus  pointed  men  to  a  woman  sweeping  her 
house  to  find  a  lost  wedding  coin,  to  a  shepherd 
leaving  his  fold  to  find  one  stray  sheep,  to  a  father 
falling  on  the  neck  of  a  returning  prodigal  son  with 
full  forgiveness  and  bountiful  welcome,  and  bade 
men  see  in  these  pictures  an  illustration  of  the  loving 
spirit  of  God. 

Jesus  tried  to  persuade  men  to  put  away  needless 
anxieties  and  hurtful  fears  by  assuring  them  that 
men  who  live  in  faith  and  walk  in  love  are  more 


Growth  55 


to  God  than  the  flowers  of  the  field  which  he  clothes 
in  beauty,  and  more  than  the  birds  of  the  air  which 
he  feeds  with  widespread  bounty. 

Jesus  tried  to  teach  men  how  to  grow  unto  per- 
fection by  reminding  them  of  the  character  of  God 
who  loves,  blesses,  and  does  good  simply  because 
such  is  his  nature,  even  as  it  is  the  nature  of  the 
sun  to  shine  beneficently.  Jesus  bids  men  love 
and  bless  and  do  good  in  like  manner  that  they  may 
be  the  children  of  the  Father  who  "makes  his  sun 
to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain 
on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust." 

Jesus  teaches  that  the  law  of  life  for  the  disciple 
is  the  same  as  the  law  of  life  for  the  Master.  "This 
is  my  commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another,  even 
as  I  have  loved  you."  Jesus  also  teaches  that  the 
disciple  should  be  satisfied  to  be  like  the  Master  in 
the  experiences  of  life.  "It  is  enough  that  the  dis- 
ciple be  as  his  master  and  the  servant  as  his  Lord." 
One  who  would  follow  Jesus  and  be  like  Him  must 
conform  to  the  conditions  of  growth. 

Three  things  constitute  the  conditions  of  growing, 
namely,  atmosphere,  food,  and  exercise.  The  social 
atmosphere  in  which  you  dwell  is  of  first  impor- 
tance. You  may  perceive  easily  the  effect  of  an 
atmosphere  upon  your  sdul.  If  you  are  in  busi- 
ness and  experience  sharp  competition  and  shrewd 
dealing,  then,  that  influence  may  easily  lead  you  to 
cherish  the  same  shrewd  and  selfish  spirit.  If  you 
have  suffered  wrong  and  your  mind  dwells  upon  the 
wrong  until  its  bitterness  is  constant,  then,  very 
easily  a  spirit  of  resentment  and  of  revenge  may  be 


56  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

awakened  in  you.  If  you  live  amid  suspicion  and 
jealousy,  a  blight  may  readily  fall  upon  generous 
affections.  On  the  other  hand,  association  with  the 
just,  the  generous,  the  charitable,  the  kindly,  and  the 
serviceable  tends  to  awaken  generous  and  kindly 
feelings  within  your  own  breast. 

Jesus'  purpose  is  to  lift  you  by  his  own  great  love 
into  a  high  and  pure  atmosphere  where  you  may 
consciously  dwell  in  the  light  and  warmth  of  God's 
gracious  goodness.  If  you  keep  yourself  in 
the  consciousness  of  God's  great  love  for 
you,  then,  the  lovelessness  which  you  may 
sometimes  meet  among  men  will  not  so  chill 
your  own  affections  as  to  blight  and  destroy  them. 
The  injustice  of  men  will  not  turn  you  from  the 
path  of  rectitude.  The  evil  of  men  will  not  prevent 
you  from  doing  good.  The  love  of  God  will  keep 
you  warm  in  affection,  sweet  in  disposition,  calm  in 
life's  commotions,  courageous  to  bear,  and  strong  to 
do  the  things  demanded  by  your  relations  and  by 
your  opportunities.  If  you  feed  upon  the  truth  of 
God  as  revealed  by  Jesus,  your  soul  will  not  fail 
nor  faint,  and  as  your  days  demand,  so  shall  your 
strength  be. 

That  which  Jesus  would  have  you  learn  is  the 
quality  of  spirit  in  which  to  live.  He  would  culti- 
vate the  soul  rather  than  inform  the  intellect.  All 
intellectual  information  furnished  by  Him  is  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  soul.  You  must  exercise,  volun- 
tarily, the  choice  of  things  pure  and  true  and  good. 
You  must  put  away  feelings  which  would  make  you 
unlike  Christ.     "Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and 


Growth  57 


anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil  speaking  be  put  away 
from  you  with  all  malice."  You  must  cultivate  the 
graces  of  the  spirit  and  "be  kind,  tender-hearted, 
forgiving,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  for- 
given you."  Thus  you  will  grow  by  exercise.  You 
will  control  your  spirit,  you  will  cast  out  evil,  you 
will  resist  temptation,  you  will  increase  in  love,  you 
will  be  an  embodiment  in  living  form  of  the  pre- 
cepts of  Jesus.  Growing  in  such  ways,  you  will 
become  like  Christ  and  will  be  numbered  among  the 
citizens  of  his  great  and  glorious  kingdom.  The 
symbols  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  such  as  the  white 
robe,  the  palm,  the  crown  will  fittingly  express  the 
purity,  the  victorious  strength,  the  royal  dignity, 
and  the  worth  of  your  character. 


I 


CHAPTER  IV 

Man's  Place  in  Nature 

S  man,  naturally,  a  finality  or  a  potentiality?  Was 
man  complete  in  intelligence  and  character,  when 
he  first  appeared  upon  the  earth,  or  was  he  a  crea- 
ture made  to  be  completed?  The  doctrine  taught 
by  theologians  for  centuries  has  been  that  man,  at 
first,  was  a  finality.  Adam  was  created  perfect ;  in 
intelligence  and  moral  endowment,  he  was  the  res- 
plendent image  of  the  Creator.  So  recent  and  so 
eminent  a  theologian  as  the  late  Charles  Hodge  of 
Princeton  has  said:  "Man  was  originally  created  in 
a  state  of  maturity  and  perfection."  "It  is  common- 
ly said  by  theologians  that  the  body  was  created 
immortal  and  impassible."  "With  regard  to  its 
immortality,  it  is  certain  that  if  man  had  not  sinned, 
he  would  not  have  died."  A  moral  catastrophe  fol- 
lowing an  act  of  disobedience  has  made  mankind 
degenerate.  Sin,  pain,  suffering,  and  death  are 
all  consequences  of  the  fall  of  man.  Salvation  is 
largely  the  restoration  of  man  to  his  primal  and 
normal  condition. 

Nothing  could  illustrate  more  clearly  than  such 
statements,  the  utterly  unscientific  habit  of  mind 
which  prevailed  in  the  church  as  well  as  in  the  world 
when  the  creeds  which  we  have  inherited  were 
formed.  Theologians  failed  to  look  upon  life  as  it 
lay  before  them,  but  read  the  letter  of  the  scriptures 
without  perceiving  the  spirit.  A  man,  though  he 
should  be  made  at  once  with  a  perfect  body  and  a 

58 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  59 

full-sized  brain,  could  not  be  complete  in  knowledge 
which  is  an  acquirement,  nor  in  holiness  which  is  an 
achievement.  The  body  of  a  man,  by  its  very  con- 
stitution, is  capable  of  pain  and,  in  a  world  like  this, 
must  suffer  even  though  there  be  no  sin.  Death, 
also,  was  in  the  world  before  man  appeared  upon  it, 
and  death  is  a  destiny  awaiting  every  material  body 
born  in  the  world.  Physical  death  is  a  part  of  the 
orderly  process  of  nature. 

Sin  and  suffering  and  the  death  entailed  thereby, 
must  be  studied  apart  from  the  physical  laws  which 
dominate  the  life  of  all  animal  creation  including 
man,  except  where  sin  is  in  violation  of  a  physical 
law. 

Theologians  have  been  philosophers  and  not  sci- 
entists. They  have  followed  a  deductive  and  not 
an  inductive  process  of  reasoning.  They  have  read 
the  story  of  creation  in  Genesis  and  they  have  inter- 
preted it  by  Saint  Paul's  use  of  Adam  as  a  type  of 
Christ.  They  have  pressed  Saint  Paul's  illustration 
to  extreme  limits.  They  have  made  Adam  as  much 
a  destroyer  of  his  race  as  Christ  is  a  Saviour. 

The  book  of  Genesis,  however,  is  a  book  of  begin- 
nings. It  is  not  a  scientific  book.  It  states  facts.  It 
does  not  describe  processes.  It  is  an  imaginary 
painting,  not  a  photograph.  It  is  poetical,  pictorial, 
and  parabolic  according  to  the  genius  of  the  Orien- 
tal people  who  wrote  the  Bible.*  Its  purpose  is  relig- 


*See  an  excellent  article  on  The  Oriental  Manner  of 
Speech,  by  Abraham  Mintrie  Rihbany,  in  The  Atlantic 
Monthly,  April,  191 6. 


6o  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ious,  not  scientific.  **God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth."  The  fact  not  the  method  of  creation  is 
affirmed.  "God  spoke" — put  forth  power — and 
light,  atmosphere,  land,  plants,  animals  and,  finally, 
man  appeared.  The  purpose  of  all  this  is  to  show 
God's  relation  to  the  things  that  are.  Man  is  more 
than  a  result  of  chemical  processes.  Man  is  a  living 
soul,  an  image  of  the  Creator.  The  image  is  an  etching 
faint  rather  than  full,  potential  in  its  promise  rather 
than  perfect.  If  Adam  is  compared  with  Jesus,  who 
is  said  to  be  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the 
embryonic  character  of  Adam's  likeness  will  be 
apparent.  Adam  was  created  to  be  developed.  It 
was  possible  for  him  to  choose  his  course,  to  know 
good  or  evil  by  experience,  to  develop  or  to  degen- 
erate, to  live  or  to  die. 

Such  is  the  picture  of  Genesis.  Its  simplicity  and 
purity,  its  freedom  from  exaggeration,  and  its  relig- 
ious suggestiveness  make  it  superior  to  other  similar 
traditions  of  the  Semitic  race.  That  parental  choice 
and  conduct  afEect  the  character  of  descendants  and 
transmit  qualities  and  tendencies  is  obvious.  The 
fall  of  man  and  original  sin  are  matters  of  vital 
truth,  but  they  have  been  pressed  altogether  too  far. 
They  have  been  so  presented  as  to  give  God  a  quality 
of  judgment,  a  method  of  conduct  and  a  severity  of 
punishment  which  if  practiced  by  any  man  or  nation 
would  call  forth  condemnation.  Saint  Paul's  use  of 
Adam  must  not  be  so  pressed  as  to  pervert  the  simple 
facts  of  Genesis,  or  to  deny  the  facts  of  history. 
Genesis  seeks,  in  the  pictorial  language  of  primitive 
people,  to  tell  how  man  began  to  be.     Saint  Paul  is 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  6 1 

concerned,  chiefly,  to  show  how  man  may  be  com- 
plete in   Christ. 

It  is  more  important  for  us  to  know  what  man 
is  now,  than  to  imagine  what  he  may  have  been  in 
the  beginning.  It  is  more  valuable  for  us  to  take 
Jesus'  estimate  of  man  than  to  take  an  opinion  based 
upon  some  interpretation  of  the  narrative  in  Genesis. 

Jesus  most  obviously  regards  man  as  a  candidate 
for  a  kingdom.  He  came  preaching  the  nearness  of 
a  kingdom  which  he  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
He  bade  men  strive  to  enter  that  kingdom.  He 
said,  "Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

Potentially,  a  grain  of  corn  is  a  possible  plant; 
but  except  a  grain  of  corn  be  begotten  by  the  vital- 
izing power  of  sunlight,  it  cannot  be  a  stalk  of  corn. 
Potentially,  an  egg  is  a  possible  bird ;  but  except  an 
egg  be  quickened  by  the  brooding  warmth  of  a 
mother,  it  cannot  be  a  bird.  Potentially,  a  child  in 
the  matrix  is  a  possible  man ;  but  unless  the  child  be 
born  into  the  larger  world  of  air  and  light  and 
action,  it  cannot  be  a  man.  Potentially,  according 
to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  a  man  is  a  possible  son  of 
God ;  but  unless  a  man  is  quickened  by  the  Spirit 
and  brought  into  communion  with  God,  he  cannot 
be  a  son.  Jesus  regards  man  as  naturally  a  germ  to 
be  quickened,  an  embryo  to  be  developed,  a  child  to 
be  born,  a  creature  of  earth  to  become  a  citizen  of 
heaven.  This  is  quite  in  accord  with  the  course  of 
nature  and  with  the  ascending  orders  of  life. 

In  the  ascending  grades  of  living  beings,  there  is 
always  something  added  in  each  new  kingdom.     A 


62  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

crystal  has  a  form  shaped  by  nature's  forces  and  it 
has  beauty  in  some  respects  quite  equal  to  the 
beauty  of  a  flower ;  but  there  is  something  in  a 
flower  which  is  not  in  a  crystal.  A  crystal  is  in  the 
mineral  kingdom,  a  flower  is  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom. A  flower  has  a  form  and  a  beauty  something 
like  the  form  and  beauty  of  a  sea-anemone;  but  a 
sea-anemone,  as  it  opens  itself  on  the  face  of  a  rock, 
has  something  which  a  flower  does  not  possess.  A 
flower  is  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  a  sea-anemone 
is  in  the  animal  kingdom.  An  animal  has  appe- 
tites and  affections  such  as  are  found  in  man;  but 
there  is  something  in  man  which  marks  him  as  be- 
longing in  a  higher  range  of  life  than  an  animal. 
There  is  something  in  man  which  impels  him  to  seek 
after  God,  if  haply  he  may  find  him.  This  may 
not  be  sufficient  of  itself  to  lift  man  out  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom,  but  it  differentiates  man  from  all 
other  animals.  It  makes  possible  man's  emergence 
from  the  animal  kingdom  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

It  should  be  noticed,  also,  that  in  every  advance 
from  one  kingdom  to  another,  some  power  from 
above  uplifts  and  transforms  the  lower.  The  lower 
never  emerges  by  its  own  force  into  a  high- 
er kingdom.  Whence  this  power  comes,  we 
know  not.  That  it  does  come  and  that 
it  works  a  great  change  we  do  know.  Jesus 
says:  "The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and 
thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell 
whence  it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth:  so  is  every 
one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."     The  fact  that  some- 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  63 

thing  has  been  produced  in  man  is  as  manifest  as  the 
fact  that  the  wind  has  passed  and  produced  a  change 
on  the  face  of  nautre. 

It  is  written  in  the  gospel  that  there  is  a  light 
shining  in  the  world,  a  life  coming  to  the  race  of 
men,  a  breath  of  a  spirit  from  heaven,  an  influence 
divine,  and  that  they  who  receive  this  light  and 
breath,  receive  power  to  become  sons  of  God.  They 
''are  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  Saint 
Paul  says:  "They  who  are  after  the  flesh,  do 
mind  the  things  of  the  flesh ;  but  they  who  are  after 
the  Spirit,  the  things  of  the  Spirit."  He  also  adds: 
"For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they 
are  the  sons  of  God."  Saint  Paul  also  says  in  con- 
nection with  his  doctrine  of  the  resurrection:  "How- 
beit  that  is  not  first  which  is  spiritual  (pneumatical) 
but  that  which  is  natural  (psychical),  and  after- 
ward that  which  is  spiritual."  "The  first  man  is  of 
the  earth,  earthy;  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from 
heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also  that 
are  earthy ;  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they 
also  that  are  heavenly.  And  as  we  have  borne  the 
image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image 
of  the  heavenly."  It  is  scarcely  needful  to  add  that 
Saint  Paul  is  speaking  of  those  who  have  known  the 
heavenly  birth  of  the  Spirit.  Speaking  to  such  per- 
sons, Saint  John  also  says:  "Behold  what  manner 
of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  on  us  that  we 
should  be  called  the  sons  of  God:  therefore  the 
world  knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew  him  not. 
Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth 


64  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be:  but  we  know 
that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him; 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

Such,  briefly,  is  the  general  tenor  of  the  teaching 
of  the  New  Testament.  Man  is  not  a  finality  and 
never  has  been.  Man  is  a  potentiality  and  has 
been  such  from  his  creation.  Man  begins  life  as 
part  of  the  animal  kingdom,  but  with  a  receptive 
capacity  and  a  latent  power  which  make  possible 
action  upon  him  by  the  Spirit  of  God  whereby  he 
may  be  lifted  into  a  higher  kingdom  called  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  and  the  kingdom  of  God.  How  this 
takes  place  man  no  more  knows  than  he  knows 
how  life  begins  anywhere.  The  process  of  chang- 
ing man  is  as  secret,  subtle,  and  strong  as  the 
process  by  which  life  once  begun  is  quickened  by  the 
warmth  of  sunlight  or  by  warmth  of  maternal  love 
or  by  mental  action  and  influence,  and  transformed 
into  something  of  higher  quality  and  nobler  form 
and  fairer  beauty.  That  such  a  change  does  take 
place,  may  be  known  by  the  results;  just  as  the  re- 
sults of  life  may  be  known  anywhere.  The  quality 
of  the  new  life  is  the  important  thing  by  which  its 
grade  may  be  known.  Wherever  spiritual  love  and 
purity,  sweetness  and  strength,  devotion  and 
righteousness  are  found,  there  the  life  exists.  Some 
persons  evidently  grow  in  this  life  from  childhood. 
They  are  known  of  God  and,  in  the  Hebrew  sense 
of  communion,  they  know  God  from  infancy.  Oth- 
ers evidently  begin  this  life  at  a  definite  period  and 
with  marked  experiences. 

The  change  of  the  natural  man  to  the  spiritual 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  65 

man  is  most  perceptible  and  most  impressive  when  the 
change  takes  place  in  those  who  have  been  dom- 
inated by  that  selfishness  and  self-seeking  which 
belong  to  the  natural  man.  Such  changes  are 
frequent  and  well  defined.  One  day  Peter  is 
a  fisherman,  a  disciple  of  Jesus  but  a  disciple 
with  an  intense  conviction  that  only  Jews  will 
obtain  Jesus'  salvation  and  participate  in  his  king- 
dom. The  next  day,  Peter  is  an  apostle  of  love, 
giving  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  a  Gentile 
soldier  of  the  Roman  army  and  declaring  the  great 
fact  that  "God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but  in 
every  nation,  he  that  feareth  Him  and  worketh 
righteousness  is  accepted  of  Him."  One  day,  Saul 
of  Tarsus  is  a  self-righteous  man,  breathing  out 
threatenings  against  all  who  believe  in  Jesus  and 
proceeding  to  Damascus  to  arrest  any  believers  who 
may  be  there.  The  next  day,  Saul  has  become 
Paul,  an  apostle;  and  in  Damascus  is  preaching 
Jesus  as  the  Saviour  of  man.  The  change  in  the 
man  was  not  only  a  change  of  opinion  but  a  change 
in  the  spirit  of  his  life.  One  day,  Augustine  is 
teaching  rhetoric  and  revelling  in  sexual  lusts.  The 
next  day,  Augustine  is  living  in  regal  control  of  the 
flesh  and  teaching  spiritual  truth.  One  day,  Fran- 
cis of  Assisi  is  enjoying  his  father's  wealth  and 
spending  it  on  the  pleasures  of  youthful  society.  The 
next  day,  Francis  is  giving  up  all  wealth  and  all 
pleasure  of  the  world  that  he  may  serve  Christ 
and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  spiritual  society.  One 
day,  John  Bunyan  is  a  profane  tinker.  The  next 
day  John  Bunyan  is  a  dreamer  of  immortal  dreams 


66  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  a  writer  of  a  book  which  next  to  the  bible  was 
long  to  be  the  most  useful  book  in  all  Britain.  One 
day,  Jerry  McCauley  is  a  companion  and  a  partner 
of  thieves.  The  next  day,  Jerry  McCauley  is  a 
preacher  of  righteousness,  saving  men  such  as  he 
had  been.  One  day,  Delia,  "The  Bluebird  of  Mul- 
berry Bend,"  is  a  harlot  on  the  streets  of  New  York. 
The  next  day,  Delia,  won  by  a  kiss  of  Christian 
love,  is  walking  the  same  streets  in  saintly  purity, 
seeking  to  save  the  fallen. 

The  changes  from  a  life  in  the  flesh  to  a  life 
in  the  spirit,  are  so  numerous  and  so  marked,  and 
there  are,  now,  so  many  who  in  pure  love  and 
holy  ministry  walk  in  the  ways  of  Christ,  that  the 
fact  of  a  higher  life  for  men  is  most  manifest.  He 
who  doubts  it,  would  doubt  the  light  of  a  star.  He 
who  denies  it,  would  deny  the  finest  flower  bloom- 
ing in  any  garden  on  earth.  He  who  does  not  de- 
sire it  for  himself,  shows  his  lack  of  desire  for  what 
is  finest  and  best  in  men. 

Salvation  has  been  preached  and  is  still  often 
preached  as  deliverance  from  a  calamity — from  the 
results  of  a  fall.  Salvation,  more  properly,  is  deliv- 
erance from  a  condition.  Where  there  has  been  the 
calamity  of  a  fall,  of  course,  there  must  be  deliver- 
ance from  that ;  but  deeper  than  that,  is  deliverance 
from  a  natural  condition.  Man  must  be  saved  from 
an  earthly  and  animal  state  of  life.  He  must  be 
saved  from  a  life  which  is  limited  to  the  sphere 
of  the  bodily  and  animal  senses.  In  this  sense,  man 
always  needed  salvation.  Adam,  as  much  as  any 
of  his  descendants,   needed  salvation.    Jesus  says: 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  67 

''Marvel  not  that  I  said,  *Ye  must  be  born  again.'  " 
The  "must" — the  necessity — in  Jesus'  estimation,  is 
primarily  not  because  of  sin  whether  of  Adam  or  of 
any  individual,  but  because  "That  which  is  born  of 
the  flesh,  is  flesh."  Jesus  regards  salvation  as  gener- 
ation and  birth  into  a  higher  state  wherein  the  spirit 
is  supreme. 

It  is  true  that  Jesus  came  to  save  people  "from 
their  sins."  But  it  is  equally  true  that  Jesus  saves 
from  sin  by  lifting  men  into  a  higher  life  wherein 
their  desires  and  their  choices  are  for  things  true 
and  holy.  Salvation,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  is 
deliverance  from  punishment  and  forgiveness  of 
sins;  but,  in  Jesus'  opinion,  salvation  is  the  recep- 
tion of  a  new  power  from  above  whereby  men  be- 
come children  of  God  and  delight  to  do  his  will. 

It  is  true  that  Jesus  began  his  preaching  by 
calling  men  to  repent.  But  it  should  be  noticed 
that  the  reason  which  Jesus  gave  for  repentance  was 
that  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  It  was 
not  impending  punishment  but  open  opportunity  of 
the  heavenly  life  which  Jesus  urged  as  the  motive 
of  repentance.  Jesus  says:  "God  so  loved  the 
world  that  he  gave  his  Son  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  Him  might  not  perish."  Jesus  says  that  the 
man  who  believes  on  Him  "hath  eternal  life."  Men 
escape  from  perishing  by  accepting  eternal  life.  It 
is  true  that  there  is  forgiveness  where  there  is  guilt 
and  deliverance  where  there  is  danger  of  destruction, 
but  forgiveness  and  deliverance  accompany  the  re- 
ception of  that  "grace  of  God  which  brings  salvation 
and  teaches  how  to  live." 


68  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

The  sin  which  Jesus  specially  notices  and  con- 
demns is  the  sin  of  refusing  to  be  saved.  Men  are 
not  condemned  by  Jesus  because  they  are  down,  but 
because  they  refuse  to  rise.  "This  is  the  condem- 
nation that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light."  *'God  sent  not 
his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world;  but 
that  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved."  "He 
that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemned:  but  he 
that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because  he 
hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God."  The  condemnation  is  not  for  what 
a  man  has  done  in  sinning,  but  for  what  he  fails  to 
do  by  not  believing. 

This  conception  of  salvation  should  give  men  a 
new  conception  of  sin.  It  is  very  noticeable  that 
Jesus  did  not  judge  harshly,  men  who  were  under 
the  domination  of  natural  appetites.  It  is,  likewise, 
noticeable  that  Jesus  did  not  demand  morality  as  a 
condition  of  entering  his  kingdom.  This  was  not 
because  Jesus  approved  of  physical  vice,  but  because 
He  saw  that  freedom  could  come  only  by  a  spiritual 
liberation.  Jesus  did  not  require  morality  in  pros- 
pective disciples  for  the  reason  that  the  morality 
demanded  in  his  kingdom  could  be  produced  only 
by  the  force  of  a  higher  life.  Sin  is  commonly 
regarded  as  some  feeling,  word,  or  act  which  is  evil. 
But  sin  is  a  mistake,  a  wrong  choice,  a  misdirection 
in  living,  a  failure.  The  great  sin  which  destroys 
men  is  the  refusal  to  accept  the  higher  life.  Adam 
chose  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  evil, 
rather  than  the   fruit  of  the  tree  of  life.     Adam 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  69 

degenerated.  Adam's  descendants  choose  the  things 
of  the  flesh  and  the  knowledge  of  evil  rather  than 
the  things  of  the  spirit  and  the  knowledge  of  good. 
They  too  degenerate.  Degeneration  among  men 
is  as  common  as  development. 

I  take  it  that  had  the  first  man  chosen  to  ascend, 
he  would  not  have  fallen.  Now,  however  low  men 
have  fallen,  the  grace  of  God  can  lift  them  up. 
"All  sins  shall  be  forgiven"  unto  the  sons  of  men, 
says  Jesus.  He  who  believeth  shall  be  saved.  This 
is  the  gospel. 

However  high  a  man  may  be  by  virtue  of  his 
birth  and  by  culture  in  the  refinements  of  polite 
society,  that  will  not  save  him.  Birth,  education, 
culture,  politeness — all  good  things  indeed  for  the 
world — will  not  lift  any  man  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

What  God  desires  in  a  man  are  qualities  of  the 
spirit  which  belong  to  a  heavenly  kingdom.  What 
God  requires  in  man  is  faith  in  Him,  however 
revealed  to  man,  and  especially  faith  in  Him  as 
revealed  in  His  Son  where  that  revelation  is  known. 
What  God  looks  for  as  evidences  of  the  true  life  of 
man  are  reverence,  faith,  gratitude,  love,  obedience, 
devotion  to  truth  and  to  the  law  of  love  especially 
as  that  love  shows  itself  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  These 
qualities  of  character  are  said  to  be  fruits  of  the 
spirit.  They  grow  not  from  earth  alone,  but  from 
earth  as  kissed  and  quickened  by  the  touch  from 
heaven.  As  flowers  and  fruits  are  the  product  of  the 
earth  and  the  physical  heaven,  so  these  graces  are 
the  product  of  human  nature  quickened  and  made 


yo  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

perfect  by  the  touch  and  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
"The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  tem- 
perance." If  these  are  not  found  in  a  man,  then, 
however  much  of  decency  and  morality  there  may 
be  in  human  relations,  condemnation  must  be  pro- 
nounced. 

Is  not  this  the  law  of  judgment  of  all  life  in  this 
world?  If  the  tree  of  a  husbandman  does  not  bear 
fruit,  he  will  dig  about  it,  fertilize  it,  and  give  it 
every  chance  of  sunshine  and  shower.  Then,  if  it 
bears  no  fruit  what  will  he  say?  "Cut  it  down; 
why  cumbereth  it  the  ground."  A  fig  tree  with 
leaves  and  no  fruit  is  a  failure  as  a  fig  tree. 

Is  not  a  student  dropped  from  his  class  in  college 
simply  because  he  refuses  to  learn?  He  may  point 
to  his  good  clothes,  to  his  politeness,  to  his  decent 
habits,  to  his  freedom  from  vice,  nevertheless,  in 
the  world  of  scholarship  for  whose  service  a  college 
exists,  if  he  will  not  learn,  he  is  condemned.  Is  not 
a  soldier  dismissed  from  the  ranks  if  he  will  not 
drill  with  his  company?  No  decencies  of  private 
life  can  make  him  a  soldier  when  his  individuality 
is  so  pronounced  that  he  cannot  be  subject  to  the 
will  of  his  commander  and  made  one  of  a  company. 
Does  not  a  clerk  lose  his  place  in  the  world  of  busi- 
ness if  he  proves  incompetent?  In  all  the  higher 
ranges  of  life  in  the  world,  failure  to  accept  a 
privilege,  to  improve  an  opportunity,  to  fulfill  an 
obligation,  and  thereby  to  rise  into  a  higher  state  of 
life  in  learning,  or  in  art,  or  in  official  position,  or 
in  the  esteem  of  men,  debars  one  forever  from  that 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  71 

higher  place  or  that  higher  life.  This  men  rec- 
ognize in  all  civilized  society. 

Only  in  things  of  the  spirit  and  in  things  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  do  men  flatter  themselves  that  they 
can  secure  welfare  and  obtain  the  rewards  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  while  neglecting  the  conditions 
upon  which  such  things  rest.  Men,  who  in  their 
generation  are  eminently  wise  and  prudent  in  respect 
to  things  of  the  world,  are  singularly  blind  in  respect 
to  the  laws  of  the  life  of  the  spirit  and  indifferent 
to  the  judgments  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  And 
because,  while  they  are  blind,  they  say,  "we  see"; 
therefore  their  sin  remaineth. 

The  sin  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  days  of  Jesus,  was 
that  the  people  would  not  see  and  learn  the  things 
which  made  for  their  peace.  The  sin  of  the  Jews 
was  that  they  would  not  come  to  Jesus  that  they 
might  have  life.  The  sin  of  men  of  the  world  is 
that  they  will  not  come  unto  the  light;  but  prefer 
the  darkness.  This  is  as  though  a  grain  of  corn  in 
the  earth  should  refuse  to  receive  sunlight,  as  though 
an  egg  should  resist  the  warmth  which  would 
quicken  it  into  a  bird,  as  though  a  child  in  the  mat- 
rix should  refuse  to  be  born.  It  is  the  refusal  of  a 
soul  to  respond  to  the  light,  and  love,  and  opportun- 
ity given  by  God,  and  so  to  reject  the  power  which 
would  so  act  upon  it  as  to  quicken  it  in  spirituality 
and  perfect  it  in  righteousness. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  If  God  is  omnipotent, 
why  does  he  not  regenerate  every  man?  This  ques- 
tion, in  thought,  confuses  material  and  moral  things, 
and  fails  to  distinguish  between  physical  and  spirit- 


72  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ual  power.  An  act  of  physical  power  can  lift  a 
grain  of  corn  and  transplant  it,  but  it  cannot  give 
a  grain  of  corn  life.  The  vitalizing  power  of  sun- 
light differs  from  a  power  which  simply  can  change 
the  position  of  a  grain  of  corn  in  space;  sunlight 
produces  change  within  the  corn  itself.  A  man  with 
physical  power  can  lift  a  child  and  transport  him 
from  place  to  place  in  space;  but  such  power  can- 
not persuade  a  child  to  love  or  to  perform  an  act  of 
righteousness.  A  power  which  produces  righteous- 
ness must  act  within  the  soul  of  the  child  and  impel 
him  to  choose  righteousness  for  himself.  A  power 
acting  like  a  physical  force  to  compel  a  man's  moral 
action  would  destroy  a  man's  liberty.  That  liberty 
God  has  given  to  man  and  He  does  not  propose  to 
destroy  it. 

The  Spirit  of  God  acting  upon  the  soul  of  man 
can  move  man,  as  one  mind  can  move  another 
mind,  to  see  and  to  feel  righteousness;  but  the  soul 
of  man  must  choose  righteousness  for  itself.  Herein 
lies  the  agreement  of  Calvinism,  which  ascribes  sal- 
vation to  the  grace  of  God,  and  Arminianism,  which 
ascribes  salvation  to  human  choice.  There  can  be 
no  stalk  of  corn  if  sunlight  from  heaven  does  not 
come  to  a  grain  of  corn  to  quicken  it;  there  can 
be  no  stalk  of  corn  unless  the  grain  of  corn  responds 
to  the  sunlight.  There  can  be  no  salvation,  in  the 
sense  of  being  born  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  if 
the  spirit  of  God  does  not  come  to  the  soul  of  man  to 
quicken  it  with  life  from  above;  there  can  be  no 
salvation,  unless  the  soul  of  man  responds  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  spirit.     This  is  the  deep  convic- 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  73 

tion  of  the  Christian  church.  The  hymns  and  the 
liturgies  of  the  church  ascribe  salvation  to  God 
and  give  thanks  for  grace  divine.  The  judgment  of 
the  scriptures  and  the  judgment  of  the  church  alike 
condemn  men  who  are  not  saved,  because  they  have 
refused  to  accept  salvation. 

Man's  place  in  nature  gives  him  the  singular 
capacity  to  receive  life  from  God  and  to  hold  com- 
munion with  Him.  God's  grace  gives  to  men  the 
opportunity  to  receive  such  grace  and  to  enjoy  such 
communion.  Man's  choice  accepts  or  rejects  such 
communion.  This  agrees  with  the  conditions  of  life 
in  the  orders  of  creation  below  man.  This  accords 
with  the  teaching  of  scripture  respecting  man.  The 
divine  attitude  and  the  human  action  are  thus  ex- 
pressed in  the  Bible:  "I  have  called,  and  ye  refus- 
ed." "I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life."  And 
"ye  w^ill  not  come  to  me  that  ye  might  have  life." 
But  he  that  believeth,  loveth,  obeyeth  hath  eternal 
life. 

This  is  man's  place  in  nature.  Man  stands  at  the 
head  of  creation  as  now  constituted  in  this  world. 
He  is  superior  to  everything  else.  He  has  dominion 
over  the  creatures  beneath  him.  But  man  stands  at 
the  entrance  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  is  poten- 
tially a  child  of  God.  He  is  a  possible  heir  of  God. 
Scientists  admit  that  further  development  for  man 
must  be  along  spiritual  lines.  As  an  animal,  he  is 
complete.  As  a  spirit  he  is  to  be  completed.  Jesus 
teaches  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  He 
bids  men  strive  to  enter  that  kingdom.  As  men 
enter  a  kingdom  other  than  the  kingdom  of  their 


74  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

birth,  by  naturalization,  by  accepting  the  govern- 
ment, laws  and  institutions  of  that  kingdom,  so  men 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  faith  and  obedience. 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  them  and  they  are 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  spiritual  difference  between  men  arises  from 
the  fact  that  some  enter  the  kingdom  just  above 
them  and  some  choose  to  remain  in  the  kingdom  of 
the  world.  Saint  Paul  defines  the  two  classes  by 
saying  that  the  lower  class  walk  after  the  flesh  and 
the  higher  class  walk  after  the  Spirit.  They  may  be 
distinguished  by  this  fact:  "They  that  are  after  the 
flesh  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh ;  but  they  that  are 
after  the  Spirit — the  things  of  the  Spirit."  The^ 
sad  fact  remains  that  "the  mind  of  the  flesh  is 
death";  and  the  blessed  fact  remains  that  "the  mind 
of  the  Spirit  is  life."  In  Saint  Paul's  conception, 
men  who  continue  under  the  control  of  the  flesh 
and  care  only  for  the  world  are  under  a  law  which 
leads  to  death ;  and  they  who  yield  to  the  Spirit  are 
under  the  control  of  a  law  which  leads  to  a  contin- 
uance of  life.  That  is  to  say,  the  one  class  belong  to 
the  present  changing  and  transient  order ;  the  other 
class  have  risen  into  an  abiding  order  of  spiritual 
existence.  The  life  of  the  former  class  is  fed  from 
the  earth  which  must  fail ;  the  life  of  the  other  class 
is  fed  from  God  who  endures.  The  former  class 
belong  to  a  temporary  state ;  the  latter  class  belong 
to  an  eternal  state. 

The  dividing  line  between  these  two  classes  may 
be  invisible  to  man.  The  difference  between  the 
class  below   and   the  class  above   the   dividing  line 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  75 

becomes  more  positive  and  distinct  as  the  distance 
from  the  line  increases.  This  is  in  accord  with  the 
development  of  life  everywhere.  Likenesses  in  liv- 
ing things  which  are  similar  exist  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  growth  and  unlikenesses  appear  in  the  later 
stages.  Wheat  and  rye,  at  first,  as  they  stand  in  a 
field,  look  alike  to  an  inexperienced  eye;  their  dif- 
ferences are  plainly  visible  at  the  harvest  time.  An 
oak  and  a  maple,  as  they  emerge  from  the  ground, 
seem  quite  alike;  they  are  quite  unlike  when  full 
grown.  The  embrj^o  of  a  dog  and  the  embryo  of  a 
child,  biologists  say,  look  alike  at  certain  periods  be- 
fore birth;  their  differences  are  great  after  birth. 
A  child  of  small  intellectual  power  and  a  child  of 
great  intellectual  power  may  seem  much  the  same 
for  the  first  few  months  or  years  of  life ;  but  the 
differences  between  them  are  very  marked  as  time 
advances.  The  saint  and  the  sinner  may  seem  much 
the  same  to  those  who  see  only  the  outward  expres- 
sion and  whose  standards  of  measurements  are  those 
of  the  parlor  and  the  market-place;  but  the  inward 
difference  is  there  and  the  outward  expression  will 
become  more  and  more  marked  with  the  passage  of 
time.  In  intelligence,  morality,  politeness,  and  ac- 
tions pertaining  to  the  present  world,  the  citizens  of 
the  world  and  the  citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
may  seem  alike  to  the  untrained  eye.  But  in  spirit- 
ual insight,  moral  feeling,  quality  of  thought,  purity 
of  affection,  loftiness  of  aim,  and  purpose  of  living 
they  may  be  widely  different. 

Morality   is   freedom   from   vice   and   crime   and 
from  offensive  attitude  and  injurious  action  on  the 


76  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

part  of  men  toward  one  another.  Spirituality  is  the 
attitude  and  action  of  a  soul  towards  God  and  to- 
wards the  inner  heart  of  things.  A  man  who  lives 
under  the  conditions  of  moral  life  which  prevail  to- 
day may  have  higher  standards  of  conduct  than 
the  standards  of  a  man  who  lived  in  the  days  of 
David.  But  it  is  possible  that  a  man  of  the  days 
of  David,  in  point  of  spiritual  sensibility  and  in 
aim  and  purpose  of  life,  may  have  been  a  better 
man  than  a  man  of  seemingly  higher  moral  charac- 
ter to-day.  A  man  reared  in  a  cultured  home  may 
have  finer  manners  than  a  man  reared  among  rude 
people;  but  the  man  of  ruder  speech  and  action 
may,  possibly,  have  a  finer  spirit  than  the  more  cul- 
tured man.  A  man  must  be  judged  by  his  inner  life 
and  not  by  his  manners.  Culture  is  largely  the 
product  of  social  opportunities;  character  is  the 
product  of  choice  and  affection. 

We  know  that  in  every  class  of  society  and  with 
every  degree  of  culture,  there  are  men  who  are  ac- 
tuated mainly  by  the  thought  of  self  and  there  are 
men  who  are  actuated  by  the  thought  of  God.  There 
are  men  whose  aim  in  life  is  to  please  themselves, 
and  there  are  men  whose  aim  is  to  please  God. 
There  are  men  whose  prayer,  if  they  pray  at  all,  is 
that  God  may  do  for  them  what  they  will;  and 
there  are  men  whose  prayer  is  that  they  may  do 
the  will  of  God.  There  are  men  whose  efforts 
are  directed  wholly  to  the  securing  of  such  things 
as  wealth,  position,  and  power,  and  there  are  men 
whose  efforts  are  expended  in  loving  and  useful  ser- 
vice.    There  are  men  who  sacrifice  the  inner  life 


Mans  Place  in  Nature  77 

of  the  soul — such  as  love,  truth,  and  justice, — for 
outward  gain;  and  there  are  men  who  suffer  the 
loss  of  outward  things  that  they  may  keep  the  spirit 
true  and  pure.  There  are  men  who  sell  their  souls 
to  buy  the  world,  and  there  are  men  who  lose  the 
world  to  save  their  souls.  The  former  serve  self, 
live  in  the  flesh,  and  live  for  the  world ;  the  latter 
serve  God,  live  in  the  spirit  and  for  the  kingdom 
of  heaven. 

The  fundamental  distinction  between  men  lies  in 
their  thought  of  themselves  as  made  for  themselves, 
or  as  made  for  society.  The  essential  character  of 
men  is  determined  by  their  sense  of  obligation  to 
live  unto  themselves  or  to  others.  The  rank  of  men 
is  determined  by  the  fact  that  they  live  to  do  their 
own  will,  or  to  do  the  will  of  God.  Carlyle  has 
said  most  truly:  "A  man's  religion,  not  what  he 
professes  as  a  creed,  but  what  he  does  absolutely 
think  of  himself  in  his  relation  to  God  and  the 
world  and  to  men  is  the  most  important  thing  about 
him." 

The  soul  of  all  evil — though  evil  takes  so  many 
forms  in  choice  and  action — is  selfishness.  The 
soul  of  all  good — though  good  takes  so  many  forms 
in  choice  and  action — is  love.  Love  bows  to  a  su- 
perior. Love  walks  in  equity  with  an  equal.  Love 
stoops  to  an  inferior.  Love  worships  God.  Love 
deals  justly  with  man.  Love  shows  mercy  and 
confers  grace  where  there  is  need. 

The  natural  man  simply  holding  his  place  in 
nature  and  holding  that  place  for  himself,  makes 
himself,  in  his  thought  and  love,  the  center  of  the 


78  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

universe.  The  spiritual  man  makes  God  the  center 
of  his  thought  and  love,  and  so  the  center  of  his 
universe. 

The  natural  man  puts  forth  his  tentacles  of  desire, 
thought  and  volition  to  gather  for  himself,  and  so 
infolds  himself  in  loneliness,  in  darkness,  and  in 
death.  The  spiritual  man  puts  forth  his  tentacles 
of  aspiration,  love,  and  will  in  worship  and  in  de- 
votion to  love  and  to  duty,  and  so  unfolds  himself, 
dwelling  in  light  and  love  immortal.  So  the  spirit- 
ual man  fulfills  the  eternal  purpose  of  God. 


CHAPTER  V 

Cooperation 

f^  UTSIDE  the  windows  where  I  write,  lie  gar- 
^^  dens,  orchards,  green  fields,  and  hills  covered 
with  forest  trees.  The  seeds  in  those  gardens,  or- 
chards, and  distant  hillsides  would  never  have  ger- 
minated and  grown  if  there  had  been  no  sunshine, 
no  showers,  and  no  air.  The  physical  heaven  and 
the  material  earth  cooperated  to  make  those  plants 
and  trees.  Substances  of  the  soil,  breath  of  the  air, 
warmth  of  sunshine,  and  colors  of  light,  are  all  in- 
wrought in  the  forms  and  beauty  and  fragrance  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom. 

In  those  gardens  and  orchards,  man  also  has 
cooperated  with  nature  in  bringing  plants  and  trees 
to  perfection.  The  world  is  so  made  that  man  may 
be  a  co-worker  with  his  Creator.  Beneath  man,  no 
animal  cooperates  with  nature  to  change  or  to  im- 
prove her  products.  Fish  swim  in  waters,  but  they 
do  not  change  the  course  of  rivers.  Birds  gather 
seeds  and,  in  an  involuntary  way  sow  them ;  but 
they  do  not  improve  the  original  plants.  Beasts 
roam  the  forests,  but  they  do  not  change  the  for- 
est into  a  harvest  field.  Man,  however,  by  his 
knowledge,  care,  and  skill,  changes  a  purely  natural 
product  into  something  superior  and  finer.  The 
Jacqueminot  rose,  the  full-blown  Chrysanthemum, 
and  the  generous,  golden  sunflower,  are  the  result 
of  man's  care  and  toil.  The  name  of  the  Concord 
79 


So  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

grape  reminds  one  of  the  place  where  it  originated, 
and  the  Baldwin  apple  preserves  the  name  of  the 
man  who  produced  it.  The  fame  of  Burbank 
has  spread  across  a  continent  from  the  wonders  he 
has  accomplished  in  producing  new  and  improved 
forms  of  flowers  and  fruits.  It  has  pleased  the 
Creator  to  take  man  into  partnership  with  himself 
in  this  great  department  of  creation,  that  without 
man  the  highest  perfection  should  not  be  attained. 

According  to  the  story  of  the  book  of  Genesis, 
man  was  placed  in  a  garden  "eastward  in  Eden  to 
dress  it  and  to  keep  it."  And  by  this  keeping  and 
dressing,  the  garden  bloomed  in  fairer  beauty,  and 
the  man  grew  in  intelligence  and  skill. 

Not  alone  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  but  also 
in  the  animal  kingdom,  man  cooperates  with  nature. 
Such  animals  as  have  been  domesticated  by  man,  are 
larger  and  finer  than  any  of  their  kind  found  in  a 
wild  state.  Durham  cattle  have  attained  their 
size;  Jersey  cattle,  their  beauty;  and  merino  sheep 
the  fineness  of  their  wool;  under  the  care  of  man. 
Percheron  horses  have  gained  their  fitness  for  draw- 
ing loads ;  English  horses,  their  gentleness  and  spir- 
it; and  Kentucky  trotters,  their  speed,  from  gen- 
erations of  careful  training  at  the  hands  of  man. 

But  above  this,  and  more  to  the  credit  of  his 
genius  and  power,  man  has  been  made  a  partner 
with  the  Creator  in  the  making  of  himself  and  his 
fellow  men.  By  his  efforts  in  the  cultivation  of 
plants  and  animals,  man  has  improved  them  and 
has  also  improved  himself.  He  has  gained  in  self- 
control,   power  of   mental  concentration,   kindness, 


Co-operation  8 1 


gentleness,  and  the  qualities  of  a  gracious  life.  Men 
have  risen  in  the  scale  of  being  by  the  love,  in- 
struction, and  inspiring  influence  of  the  higher  men 
of  the  race  acting  in  wide  reaches  upon  lower  men. 

Schools,  colleges,  and  churches  all  rest  upon  the 
fundamental  principle  that  the  lower  must  be  served 
by  the  higher.  It  is  by  cooperation  in  education,  in 
worship,  and  in  ideals,  that  the  race  of  mankind 
rises.  Our  civilization  is  the  result  of  the  continu- 
ous impartation  and  preservation  of  the  best  any 
man  has  acquired  in  thought,  knowledge,  culture, 
and  character.  For  the  preservation  and  perpetu- 
ation of  the  best  of  any  generation,  books  are  print- 
ed, libraries  founded,  schools  conducted,  and  the 
elaborate  machinery  of  education  and  civil  govern- 
ment are  established  among  men.  The  man  who 
would  receive  most  during  his  lifetime  must  be  con- 
tent to  be  served  by  those  higher  than  himself.  The 
man  who  would  do  most  during  his  lifetime  must 
consent  to  serve. 

There  are  two  forms  of  service  in  the  world; 
service  from  compulsion  wherein  the  weaker  serves 
the  stronger  from  fear  and  necessit)^  and  service 
from  love,  wherein  by  an  inward  impulse  the  strong- 
er serves  the  weaker.  The  former  service  degrades ; 
the  latter  service  elevates.  Nothing  is  morally  worse 
for  both  master  and  servant  than  slavery.  Nothing 
is  more  beneficial  than  that  relation  of  faith  and 
love  by  which  the  lower  receives  the  ministrations 
of  the  higher.  Writers  on  social  history  sometimes 
justify  slavery  as  a  historic  fact  by  claiming  that 
slavery  has  been  the  means  of  training  men  in  the 


82  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

habit  of  continuous  labor  and  has,  thereby,  induced 
greater  skill,  efficiency,  and  character.  There  may 
be  a  measure  of  truth  in  this  claim.  The  black 
slaves  in  the  United  States,  in  language,  intelligence, 
and  moral  character  reached  a  higher  plane  than 
their  ancestors  attained  in  Africa.  Slavery  in  a 
measure  civilized  them.  But  the  black  people  in  the 
United  States  who,  in  the  last  fifty  years,  have  been 
served  by  a  host  of  white  teachers  quickening  their 
intelligence  and  training  them  in  manual  skill,  have 
risen  to  a  much  higher  grade  of  life  than  their  ances- 
tors who  were  slaves.  The  native  tribes  of  South 
Africa  who  have  been  taught  and  trained  by  the 
loving  ministry  of  missionaries  have  advanced  in 
intelligence  and  efficiency  far  beyond  what  they 
would  have  achieved  through  any  system  of  slavery 
and  compulsory  labor.  It  should  also  be  noticed 
that  no  race  ever  has  risen  in  slavery  to  the  height 
to  which  men  have  risen  in  freedom.  There  must  be 
the  free  choice  of  reception  of  service  by  faith,  and 
the  free  choice  of  service  in  love,  for  the  best  devel- 
opment of  mankind. 

The  highest  life  ever  lived  on  this  earth  was  a  life 
of  voluntary  service.  Jesus  said  of  himself:  "I 
came  forth  from  the  Father  and  am  come  into  the 
world."  "I  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister."  "I  am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth." 
Jesus  revealed  the  great  fact  that  the  law  of  love, 
the  law  of  service,  is  a  law  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Prior  to  the  time  of  Jesus,  men  conceived 
of  God  as  a  Ruler;  they  hardly  imagined  that  God 
stooped  to  serve. 


Co-operation  83 


The  law  of  love  is  a  law  which  God  Himself 
obeys.  Does  not  the  act  of  creation  place  the  Cre- 
ator in  some  relation  of  obligation  to  the  creation? 

Does  not  the  gift  of  life  impose  some  obligation 
in  respect  of  the  care  of  life?  Does  not  parentage 
carry  in  itself  a  sense  of  obligation  to  offspring?  Par- 
ents placed  on  an  otherwise  uninhabited  island 
where  there  is  no  government  to  impose  laws  and 
where  there  are  no  policemen  to  enforce  laws,  would 
feel  in  themselves  a  sense  of  responsibility,  demand- 
ing service  to  the  children  born  to  them.  In  all 
parental  life,  the  nature  of  the  parent  binds  the  par- 
ent to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  child. 

If  God  created  man  capable  of  communion  with 
himself  and  needing  that  communion  for  his  com- 
pletion; then,  surely,  God  is  under  obligation  on  His 
part  to  give  such  communion  to  man.  God's  own 
nature  and  law  of  life  and  purpose  bind  Him  to  ful- 
fill that  obligation.  If  man  cannot  be  a  complete 
being  without  God,  then  God  is  compelled  to  give 
Himself  to  man.  This  indebtedness  is  recognized  in 
the  Bible. 

Throughout  the  sacred  scriptures,  God  insists, 
continually,  on  the  fact  that  He  is  striving  to  ful- 
fill the  indebtedness  of  His  own  love  to  men.  Over 
and  over  again,  God  is  represented  as  declaring  that 
He  has  loved,  sought,  called,  reached  out  His  hands, 
and  tried  in  every  way  to  save  and  bless  men.  And, 
if  there  is  failure,  it  is  attributed,  constantly,  to  the 
fact  that  men  refuse  to  see,  hear,  heed,  receive,  and 
know  the  grace  of  God.  The  revelation,  in  the  gos- 
pel,  is  the   supreme   manifestation   of   this   impulse 


84  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  compelling  love  on  the  part  of  God.  "For  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whoso ver  believeth  in  Him  should  not  per- 
ish, but  have  everlasting  life." 

God  becomes  the  supreme  servant  of  man.  God 
condescends  to  love,  visit,  renew,  inspire,  and  lift  up 
the  man  of  humble  heart,  trustful  spirit,  and  obedi- 
ent will.  This  accords  with  the  law  of  life  under 
the  care  of  man.  If  plants  and  animals,  in  nature, 
reach  their  highest  development  under  the  loving 
care  of  man;  is  it  strange  that  man  is  to  reach 
his  highest  development  under  the  care  of  God? 
If  life  from  the  kingdom  just  above  the  mineral 
kingdom,  or  life  from  the  kingdom  just  above  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  touches  that  which  lies  in  the 
kingdom  just  beneath  and  lifts  it  into  the  kingdom 
above;  is  it  not  natural  that  life  from  the  spiritual 
kingdom  of  heaven  should  touch  the  life  of  man  and 
lift  it  into  the  kingdom  of  God?  This,  according 
to  the  gospel  and  the  New  Testament  teaching,  is 
precisely  what  is  being  done. 

Man's  greatest  achievement  here,  as  elsewhere, 
lies  in  cooperation  with  God.  Man's  greatest  achieve- 
ment in  mechanical  affairs  is  accomplished  by  placing 
his  machinery  so  that  the  forces  of  wind,  water,  elec- 
tricity, and  gravity  play  upon  that  machinery  until 
it  moves  in  accord  with  nature's  forces.  Man's 
greatest  achievements  in  the  sphere  of  morals  and 
spirituality  are  accomplished  by  placing  his  affec- 
tions, intelligence,  and  will  in  obedient  accord  with 
God's  love,  thought,  and  will  in  the  world.  Great 
deeds  are  wrought  not  so  much  by  great  effort  as 


Co-operation  85 


by  complete  surrender  to  the  will  of  God.  The  love 
of  God  constrains  the  man  who  yields  to  it.  As  a 
rolling  river  carries  on  its  way  all  smaller  streams 
which  flow  into  it,  so  God's  great  love  and  power,  in 
things  of  the  spirit,  carry  along  the  love  and  thought 
of  every  man  who  surrenders  to  them.  This  is  what 
Saint  Paul  meant  when  he  said:  "The  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  me."  Saint  Paul  had  been  serv- 
ed and  saved  by  God.  This  fact  brought  him  under 
the  control  of  the  law  of  God  in  his  relation  to  un- 
saved men.  Saint  Paul  said  of  himself:  "I  am  a 
debtor  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  Barbarians; 
both  to  the  wise  and  to  the  unwise."  This  indebt- 
edness did  not  arise  from  any  service  which  had  been 
rendered  to  Saint  Paul  by  the  Greeks  or  Barbarians. 
The  obligation  rested  upon  Saint  Paul  not  from 
any  service  rendered  him,  but  by  the  ability  con- 
ferred on  him  to  render  service.  He  had  become  a 
child  of  God  through  faith  in  Jesus.  He  had 
experienced  the  divine  love  in  the  pardon  of  his  sins 
and  in  the  gift  of  a  new  life.  He  who  had  received 
so  much  from  God  owed  something  to  men  who  had 
received  less.  It  was  an  obligation  imposed  by  love. 
It  was  the  indebtedness  of  power  possessed.  It  was 
the  ability  to  confer  a  benefit  which  impelled  him 
to  seek  to  confer  that  benefit.  This  is  the  law  of 
life  in  all  men  who  truly  live  with  God. 

The  two  greatest  qualities  of  soul  and  heart  are 
faith  and  love.  Faith  is  that  attitude  of  the  soul 
towards  God  which  makes  the  soul  of  man  recep- 
tive to  the  power  which  God  stands  ready  to  confer. 
Love  is  that  quality  of  the  heart  which  impels  a 


86  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

man  to  worship  God  and  to  serve  men.  Without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God  or  to  be  saved. 
Without  love,  it  is  impossible  to  fulfil  the  divine  law 
of  life.  Faith  places  the  soul  of  man  under  the  tui- 
tion and  guidance  of  God.  We  may  say  as  plant 
and  animal  arrive  at  the  highest  perfection  through 
faith  in  man  and  obedience  to  him,  so  man  rises  to 
highest  perfection  through  faith  in  God  and  obedi- 
ence to  Him.  According  to  the  New  Testament  it 
is  to  the  man  who  believeth,  loveth,  obeyeth,  that  the 
promises  of  God  are  given.  All  things  are  his,  for 
he  is  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's. 

Nature  itself,  properly  interpreted,  teaches  men 
the  law  of  love.  The  struggle  for  existence  is  not 
so  much  a  struggle  for  personal  and  individual  exis- 
tence, as  a  struggle  for  the  existence  of  others.  A 
child  begins  life  in  instinctive  faith  in  maternal 
love,  and  a  child's  knowledge  of  that  love  is  intui- 
tive. A  child  learns  early  to  love  its  immediate 
family  and  to  live  in  active  cooperation  with  its 
family.  A  child  soon  learns  that  its  welfare,  its 
pleasure,  and  its  success,  lie  in  the  keeping  of  the 
family  or  the  tribe.  The  mistake  which  men  have 
made  in  their  history  is  in  limiting  good  will  to 
the  tribe  or  the  nation,  and  in  regarding  all  who 
live  without  that  limit  as  enemies.  But  the  percep- 
tion of  diversity  of  natural  talents  and  skill  which 
results  in  division  of  labor,  the  practice  of  trade 
which  issues  in  commerce,  and  the  necessity  of  deal- 
ing with  wider  groups  than  the  family  or  tribe, 
reveal  to  men  a  larger  relationship.  The  establish- 
ment  of    government   and    the   enactment   of   laws 


Co-operation  87 


which  at  first  mainly  forbid  injuries,  but  which  soon 
enjoin  duties  also,  train  men  in  the  perception  and 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  individual  good  is  best 
secured  in  cooperation  with  other  men.  The  in- 
creasing areas  within  which  wars  are  impossible  and 
within  which  entire  freedom  of  travel  and  trade 
exist,  the  increase  of  international  and  world-wide 
trade,  and  the  establishment  of  international  law 
by  which  nations  are  to  be  governed,  all  indicate 
increasing  knowledge  that  in  common  faith,  mutual 
good-will,  and  widespread  cooperation,  the  highest 
welfare  of  men  is  to  be  attained.  To  him  who  can 
see  into  the  heart  of  things,  this  shows  that  the  law 
of  love  is  the  divine  order  of  life  as  revealed  in  the 
very  constitution  of  society.  Distrust,  hatred,  and 
injury,  such  as  mark  a  period  of  wars,  lead  naturally 
to  degradation,  destruction,  and  death.  The  bene- 
fits which  are  supposed  to  have  followed  wars  arise 
either  through  the  perception  and  knowledge  of  a 
higher  form  of  civilization  and  life,  such  as  an  invad- 
ing people  may  get  from  travel  as  in  the  case  of  the 
invading  Goths  or  the  crusaders  who  returned  home 
with  new  ideas  of  manufacture  and  learning,  or  else, 
the  gains  which  follow  wars,  arise  from  the  increas- 
ed activities  which  war  has  demanded  or  made  neces- 
sary. The  real  gain,  comes  from  increased 
knowledge,  inventive  skill,  and  practical  applica- 
tion of  quickened  intellect  and  trained  cooperative 
power  to  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  Gain  to  men 
never  comes  directly  to  mankind  through  individ- 
ualism and  destruction,  but  only  indirectly.  Gain 
comes  directly  through  socialism  and  construction. 


The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 


The  law  of  love,  which  is  the  way  of  mutual 
good-will  and  mutual  service,  is  the  law  of  life  for 
mankind.  This  fact  is  coming  to  be  understood  as 
never  before.  This  is  partly  because  men  see  the 
advantage  of  cooperation  in  all  lines  of  effort.  The 
age  of  individualism  is  passing.  The  age  of  dem- 
ocracy in  politics,  of  combination  in  business,  of 
cooperation  in  social  service  has  come.  Large  em- 
pires and  republics,  international  law,  world-wide 
commerce,  increasing  control  and  oversight  of  pri- 
vate business,  sanitary  legislation,  public  education, 
increasing  social  cooperation,  and  many  other  things 
all  reveal  the  practical  operation  of  the  principle  of 
love  in  the  world.  The  individual  man  counts  for 
little  alone;  he  counts  for  much  with  others.  The 
chief  value  of  a  man  to  himself  and  to  the  world, 
consists  in  his  being  a  member  of  society.  Even  in 
the  highest  form  of  human  life  this  is  true.  Indi- 
vidual salvation  is  essential  for  entrance  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  But  even  individual  salvation 
is  perfected  by  one's  becoming  part  of  a  renewed 
society.  The  best  things  now,  as  in  the  ancient  econ- 
omy of  grace,  are  withheld  from  men  for  a  time 
because  an  individual  without  others  cannot  be  made 
perfect. 

As  one  may  think  God's  great  thoughts  after 
him  in  scientific  knowledge,  in  mechanical  motions, 
and  in  artistic  forms,  so  one  may  think  God's  great 
thoughts  after  him  in  the  ways  of  spiritual  mo- 
tives, social  relations,  and  serviceable  activities  in 
life.  The  eternal  life  and  the  divine  law  of  love 
are  declared  to  be  revealed  in  Jesus;   they  are  cer- 


Co-operation  89 


tainly  illustrated  in  his  words  and  works.  The 
true  life  of  man  is  secured  by  fellowship  with  Jesus. 
There  can  be  no  truly  successful  life  to  any  man 
apart  from  that  faith  which  brings  divine  power 
into  him,  and  apart  from  that  love  which  leads  him 
to  worship  and  to  serve. 

Jesus  lived  among  men  as  one  who  served,  and 
he  bade  his  disciples  live  in  the  same  manner.  Their 
relation  to  Him  must  be  vital,  like  that  of  branches 
to  a  vine;  docile,  like  that  of  pupils  to  a  teacher; 
submissive,  like  that  of  servants  to  a  master;  obedi- 
ent, like  that  of  subjects  to  a  king.  As  the  Father 
loved  Jesus  so  He  loved  His  disciples;  as  He  loved 
them,  so  they  were  to  love ;  as  He  had  lived,  so  they 
were  to  live;  as  He  had  served,  so  they  were  to 
serve.  They  had  received  freely,  they  were  to  give 
freely.  They  had  obtained  power,  they  were  to  use 
power.  They  were  to  heal  the  sick;  to  cast  out 
demons ;  to  preach  the  gospel ;  and  to  bring  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  to  pass. 

Whatever  one  may  think  of  the  original  gift  of 
power  to  the  disciples  by  which  they  wrought 
changes  in  the  world  miraculously ;  it  is  evident  that 
in  the  long  course  of  Christian  history,  demons  have 
been  cast  out,  disease  has  been  conquered,  minds 
have  been  made  sane,  and  love  has  been  generated  in 
the  hearts  of  men  by  slow  processes  working  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  the  spirit  rather  than  by  miracles. 
Those  who  have  followed  Jesus  in  love,  have  added 
their  contribution  to  the  sum  of  human  welfare; 
even  when  they  could  not  point  to  specific  cases 
wherein  changes  were  wrought  by  power  proceeding 


90  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

from  them.  The  loving  heart  and  kind  spirit,  like 
unseen  flowers  which  breathe  their  fragrance  on  the 
passing  air,  sweeten  and  perfect  the  society  of  hu- 
man kind.  All  such  persons  fulfill  the  divine  con- 
dition of  a  growing  and  perfect  life.  They  obey, 
though  unconsciously,  the  apostolic  command, 
"Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling;  for  it  is  God  which  worketh  in  you 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure."  They 
become  "workers  together  with  Him."  They  live 
in  the  divine  light,  walk  in  the  divine  love,  and 
fulfill  the  divine  will  in  feeling,  thought,  purpose, 
and  expressed  power  of  their  life. 

No  life  can  be  successful  unless  it  conforms  to  the 
divine  requirement  of  communion.  Any  life  to  be 
successful  must  commune  both  with  God  and  with 
men  by  receiving  and  by  imparting.  Any  person 
who  attempts  to  be  simply  receptive  and  absorbent, 
to  partake  of  the  good  gifts  of  God  and  to  make  no 
effort  to  serve  God  and  man,  will  fail  in  the  end. 
The  self-centered,  selfish,  absorbent  life  will  become 
diseased  in  affection,  perverted  from  the  truth  in 
thought,  debased  in  purpose,  enslaved  in  will ;  and 
so,  both  by  its  own  action  and  by  the  laws  of  the 
kingdom  of  spirits,  will  be  separated  from  the  cur- 
rent of  the  divine  life  and  will  be  thrown  at  last  like 
flotsam,  on  the  shores  of  time,  and  will  have  no 
place  or  part  in  the  eternal  kingdom. 

On  the  other  hand,  any  life  which  accepts  the 
will  and  the  way  of  God  as  that  will  and  way 
are  revealed  in  the  constitution  of  nature  and  in  the 
enlightened  conscience,  and  which  expands  and  ex- 


Co-operation  91 


presses  itself  in  love  will  grow  sweet  in  spirit,  pure 
in  affection,  true  in  tenor  of  thought,  generous  in 
sympathy,  rich  in  graciousness,  and  large  in  influ- 
ence and  in  service.  Such  a  life  will  move  in  the 
current  of  the  divine  life  in  history,  and  will  have  a 
place  and  a  part  in  the  eternal  kingdom. 

The  particular  sphere  of  life  in  which  one  finds 
himself,  may  not  be  of  his  own  choosing;  but  the 
spirit  in  which  one  wills  to  live  is  his  own.  Every 
man  must  control  his  own  feelings,  cherish  his  own 
imagination,  think  his  own  thoughts,  sing  his  own 
song,  paint  his  own  picture,  build  his  own  house, 
and  complete  his  own  work.  The  place  of  his  birth 
and  the  material  given  him  with  which  to  work 
are  not  of  man's  choice;  but  what  he  will  do  with 
the  material  at  hand  is  his  own  choice.  A  man's 
purpose  is  his  own;  if  there  is  a  flaw  in  the  mate- 
rial given  him  which  mars  the  work,  he  is  not  re- 
sponsible for  that.  A  man  is  measured  by  what  he 
attempts  to  do.  When  that  attempt  is  according  to 
the  divine  will,  then  he  is  a  workman  together  with 
God.  If  conditions  arise  which  check  and  limit  the 
expression  of  the  power  which  is  within  him,  then, 
like  the  King  of  Israel  who  desired  to  build  a  house 
to  the  honor  of  God,  but  could  not ;  he  will  be 
praised  for  what  was  within  his  heart. 

Love,  however,  is  irrepressible  and  where  love  ex- 
ists there  will  be  found  some  mode  of  expression.  A 
life  inspired  by  love  will  come  to  blossom  and  to 
fruitage.  In  the  sphere  of  the  spirit,  love  can 
know  no  final  failure.     The  divine  blessing,  accord- 


92  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ing  to  Jesus,  is  pronounced  not  upon  him  who  has 
accomplished  some  visible  thing,  but  upon  him 
whose  spirit  is  right.  The  humble,  the  pure,  the 
loving,  the  merciful,  the  gracious  are  blessed. 
One's  union  with  the  divine  kingdom  is  not  depen- 
dent upon  his  visible  achievement,  but  upon  his  love. 
"Every  one  who  loveth  is  born  of  God  and  know- 
eth  God." 

The  flower  growing  in  the  field  cannot  tell  how 
much  of  the  force  which  builds  it  up  is  rising  from 
the  soil,  and  how  much  is  flowing  from  the  sun- 
shine; the  ship  on  the  sea  cannot  tell  how  much  of 
the  force  which  impels  it  comes  from  the  waves  of 
the  ocean,  and  how  much  is  from  the  winds  of 
heaven;  the  child  in  school  cannot  tell  how  much 
of  his  increasing  intellectual  power  is  due  to  his  own 
effort,  and  how  much  is  due  to  the  inspiring  influ- 
ence of  his  teacher;  the  soldier  marching  to  battle 
cannot  tell  how  much  of  his  courage  is  his  own,  and 
how  much  comes  from  the  companionship  of  the 
marching  army;  and  the  man  who  is  cooperating 
with  God  cannot  tell  how  much  of  his  power  is  his 
own,  and  how  much  is  directly  and  indirectly  from 
God ;  he  can  know  only  that  he  is  growing  in  love 
and  in  power  of  ministry,  in  peace  and  in  joy  of  ser- 
vice, in  worship  and  in  delight  in  doing  the  will  of 
God. 

A  scheme  of  world  history,  such  as  is  made  known 
to  us  in  the  constitution  of  the  world,  in  the  gospel 
of  grace,  and  in  the  promises  of  great  things  yet  to 
be,  makes  possible  to  men  participation  in  the  prog- 


Co-operation  93 


ress  and  in  the  results  of  such  history,  and  affords 
to  men  opportunity  to  become  great  through  faith 
and  love. 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Incarnation 

npHE  marvel  of  spring  when  fields  which  have 
been  brown  are  clothed  in  living  green,  when 
flowers  like  arbutus  and  violets  and  dandelions  ap- 
pear, when  trees  so  recently  bare  and  seemingly  dead 
are  clothed  with  delicate  green  leaves,  when  blos- 
soms white  as  driven  snow  and  pink  as  a  baby's 
,hand  crown  the  orchards  in  profusion  is  an  annual 
miracle.  To  the  man  of  seeing  eye  and  discerning 
mind,  this  wealth  of  vegetable  life  and  beauty  is 
a  revelation  of  the  wisdom,  intelligence,  and  power 
of  the  Creator.  It  shows  something  of  which  the 
mineral  kingdom  has  not  spoken.  It  reveals  much 
of  God ;  but  it  leaves  much  unrevealed  which  the 
heart  would  gladly  know.  Men  beholding  all  this, 
still  seek  after  God  if  haply,  by  the  spirit,  they  may 
find  Him  and  finding  Him,  by  the  spirit,  may  be 
satisfied.  There  is  needed  a  more  complete  revela- 
tion of  God  than  nature  affords. 

We  cannot  say  that  all  power  is  life,  but  we  can 
say  that  all  life  is  power.  In  our  world,  at  least, 
power  expresses  itself  in  material  movements,  by 
changing  the  position  of  material  things  or  their 
relation  one  to  another.  Power,  thus,  expresses  it- 
self by  what  may  be  called  an  incarnation  of  force. 
When  by  an  act  of  my  will,  I  lift  a  book  from  a 
desk,   the  movement  of  that  material  thing  is  the 

94 


The  Incarnation  95 


visible  expression  of  the  power  of  my  will.  Emo- 
tion, thought,  and  will  clothe  themselves  in  mater- 
ial form. 

Music  is  a  spiritual  emotion,  but  music  clothes 
itself  in  air,  shapes  the  air  in  billowy  waves  which 
throb  and  thrill  with  feeling,  enters  the  open  ear, 
and  touches  the  listening  soul  until  that  soul  throbs 
and  thrills  with  the  same  feeling.  IVlusic  is  a  uni- 
versal language. 

Thought  is  a  mental  emotion,  but  thought  clothes 
itself  in  vocal  or  in  written  speech  and,  thereby,  be- 
comes perceptible  to  ear  or  eye,  and  so  intelligible 
to  a  receptive  mind. 

Love  is  a  feeling,  an  affection  of  the  heart,  but 
love  embodies  itself  in  smile  or  in  sigh,  in  tone  or  in 
tear,  in  touch  or  caress  and,  thereby,  makes  itself 
known  and  felt. 

All  life  in  this  world,  from  the  life  of  the  lowliest 
flower  to  the  life  of  the  highest  man,  is  known 
through  an  incarnation,  and  by  means  of  physical 
expression.  But  life  itself  is  something  other  than 
the  material  in  which  it  is  embodied  and  through 
which  it  is  expressed. 

Chemically,  the  material  may  all  be  there  and 
yet  there  may  be  no  life.  Chemically,  the  material 
in  which  life  has  dwelt  may  all  remain  and  yet  the 
life  may  be  gone.  That  which  is  lacking  in  the 
former  case  and  lost  in  the  latter  case,  is  the  soul 
of  what  lived.  What  that  soul  is,  no  man  knows. 
In  the  study  of  biology,  by  sight  and  touch  and  by 
knife  and  microscope,  I  found  that  life  itself  always 
eluded  my  touch  and  sight.     Life  is  a  mysterious 


96  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

force  which  seizes,  moves,  and  changes  the  material 
in  which  it  is  embodied.  Life,  also,  has  its  own 
peculiar  quality  independent  of  the  material  in 
which  it  dwells.  Two  trees  may  stand  in  the  same 
field,  may  feed  on  the  same  soil,  may  drink  the 
same  showers,  may  bask  in  the  same  sunshine,  and 
yet  may  differ  radically  in  form,  flower,  fragrance, 
and  fruit.  Everything  else  being  the  same,  that 
mysterious  somewhat  which  we  call  life  must  make 
the  difference.  We  classify  vegetation  according  to 
form,  fiber,  blossom,  and  fruit.  We  classify  animals 
according  to  disposition,  intelligence,  and  habits  of 
life.  In  such  classification,  man  easily  stands  at  the 
head  of  creation.  Men  differ  immensely  from  one 
another.  The  difference  in  intelligence,  morality, 
and  spirituality  between  the  lowest  specimens  of 
primitive  and  barbarous  men  and  the  highest  types 
of  civilized  and  cultured  men  is  very  great;  yet 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  classifying  all  men  in  the 
family  of  mankind. 

One  person  alone  has  appeared  among  men  with 
such  a  heart  of  holy  love  and  such  a  spirit  of 
supreme  service  that  men  have  found  difficulty  in 
classfying  him.  Jesus  alone  has  transcended  ordin- 
ary classification.  Who  Jesus  is,  is  a  question  whose 
solution  men  sought  and  still  seek.  Men  of  the 
time  of  Jesus  did  not  find  Him  to  be  a  product  of 
His  race,  or  age  or  environment.  They  said  that  he 
was  an  old  prophet  returned  again;  or  a  modern 
prophet,  like  John  the  Baptist,  risen  from 
the  dead ;  or  a  superiorly  gifted  prophet ; 
or    a    demonized    man;    or    a    son    of    God    in 


The  Incarnation  97 

some  special  sense;  or  "The  Son  of  the  living  God." 
For  nineteen  centuries,  men  have  found  Jesus  to  be 
singular,  unique,  supreme  in  the  sphere  of  the  spirit, 
and  their  most  common  conclusion  has  been  that  he 
is  the  Son  of  God. 

This  title,  historically  and  according  to  the  rec- 
ord, was  not  given  to  Jesus  by  men  because  of  an 
angelic  announcement  at  his  advent,  nor  because  of 
singularity  of  birth,  nor  because  of  claims  put  forth 
by  Jesus  himself;  but  because  of  the  impression 
made  by  his  life  on  the  minds  of  them  who  knew  him 
best.  Jesus  did  not  begin  his  public  life  by  announc- 
ing singularity  of  birth  and  divinity  of  nature.  Jesus 
simply  lived  his  life  and  let  it  speak  for  itself.  A 
rose  does  not  declare  its  beauty,  it  simply  blooms; 
it  does  not  announce  its  sweetness,  it  simply  breathes 
it  on  the  air.  So  Jesus  simply  lived  His  life,  spoke 
His  words,  did  His  works  and,  then,  men  called 
Him  the  Son  of  God.  When,  near  the  close  of  his 
life,  in  answer  to  His  own  question  ''Who  do  you 
say  I  am?"  those  who  had  accompanied  Him  most 
intimately  exclaimed  in  a  burst  of  admiring  faith, 
"Thou  art  the  Son  of  God" ;  Jesus  pronounced  that 
conception  as  a  blessed  one.  He  said  that  concep- 
tion of  Him  did  not  arise  from  human  superstition, 
but  from  divine  revelation  of  the  Father.  He  said 
that  definition  proceeded  from  inward  illumination, 
spiritual  vision,  and  true  knowledge.  He  said  that 
on  that  truth  He  would  build  His  church.  And  a 
little  later  He  said  to  men  of  such  faith,  "He  that 
hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father." 
The  impression  which  a  man  leaves  on  the  minds 


98  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

of  men  and  on  the  world,  reveals  what  he  himself 
has  been.  Mention  Phidias,  and  you  think  of  sculp- 
ture; mention  Raphael,  and  you  think  of  painting; 
mention  Newton,  and  you  think  of  science;  men- 
tion Beethoven,  and  you  think  of  music;  mention 
Jesus,  and  you  think  of  God.  The  impression  which 
a  die  makes,  shows  what  the  die  is.  The  impression 
which  a  man  makes,  shows  what  the  man  is.  The 
impression  which  Jesus  made  on  the  minds  of  men, 
and  which  he  continues  to  make,  is  not  a  new 
thought  of  men  but  a  new  thought  of  God. 

This  is  worth  considering.  Think  of  it.  It  was 
not  a  new  thought  of  the  value  and  meaning  of  man 
which  led  the  apostles  to  adopt  the  life  of  evan- 
gelists and  missionaries.  It  was  new  thought  of 
God.  God  loved  the  world — not  the  Jews  only — 
and  so  they  should  love  the  world.  "God  hath 
showed  me,"  said  Peter  to  the  Roman  captain, 
Cornelius,  "that  I  should  call  no  man  common  or 
unclean."  Therefore,  Peter  was  willing  to  give 
the  hand  of  fellowship  to  the  Gentiles,  and  welcome 
them  into  the  church.  The  conceptions  of  the  apos- 
tles were  so  changed  that  they  said:  "In  point  of 
classification,  opportunity,  privilege,  there  can  be 
'neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  neither  bond  nor  free, 
neither  male  nor  female.'  "  "God's  love,"  they 
said,  "has  been  shown  in  the  life  and  sufferings  of 
Jesus,  and  his  love  constrains  us.  We  are  will- 
ing to  live  and  to  suffer  for  the  salvation  of  men." 
It  was  God's  love,  God's  judgment  of  men,  God's 
action,  and  God's  effort  which  impressed  them  and 
made  them  willing  to  put  away  former  thoughts  and 


The  Incarnation  99 


to  live  as  the  love  of  God  had  lived  in  the  person 
of  Jesus.  God  loved  the  world,  and  they,  too, 
should  love  the  world.  God's  love  as  it  had  ap- 
peared in  Jesus,  had  given  itself  for  them,  and  they 
should  love  as  He  had  loved. 

That  which  the  apostles  first  preached  as  revealed 
and  published  in  the  life  of  Jesus  was  not  new 
ethics  or  a  new  sociology,  but  a  new  theology.  They 
preached  the  Father  who  had  revealed  Himself 
through  a  Son.  "In  former  times,"  they  said,  "God 
spoke  to  our  fathers  in  prophets,  but  now  He  hath 
spoken  to  us  in  a  Son."  They  worshipped  God 
not  as  King,  but  as  Father.  They  obeyed  God  not 
as  servants,  but  as  sons.  As  a  result  of  this  faith 
and  this  worship,  they  taught  that  the  distinctions 
which  had  existed  between  men  were  fortuitous  and 
should  be  abolished.  They  taught  that  men  should 
be  brothers.  Their  sociology  followed  their  the- 
ology. 

In  all  this  description,  there  is  no  intention  of  de- 
nying or  making  little  of  any  statements  of  the 
New  Testament  respecting  the  conception  and  birth 
of  Jesus,  but  only  the  intention  of  emphasizing  the 
greatness  of  His  personality.  Jesus'  character 
showed  love;  His  works,  power;  His  words,  spirit 
and  life.  The  effect  of  Jesus'  life  upon  men  was 
to  make  them  new  creations  in  love,  purpose,  and 
power  of  holy  living.  The  efEect  of  Jesus'  life  was 
such  that  men  felt  that  He  could  not  be  accounted 
for  by  the  common  lines  of  heredity,  education,  and 
environment.  Jesus'  life  was  so  full,  so  rich,  so 
life-giving  that  men  felt  that  it  must  spring  from 


lOO  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

some  higher  source  than  the  lives  of  other  men. 

How  that  life  came  to  be,  like  the  coming  of  all 
life,  is  a  mystery.  Life  was  not,  life  is.  Whence 
it  comes,  who  knows?  How  it  comes,  who  can 
tell  ?  The  ordinary  processes  of  sowing  seed  and  of 
physical  generation,  the  growth  of  plants  and  of 
bodies  is  something  known, — but  life  itself,  in  its 
origin  and  nature  is  unknown.  Life  is  the  name 
we  apply  to  that  secret,  silent, 'potent  power  which 
vivifies,  shapes,  and  completes  any  living  thing. 

All  life  is  of  God.  He  is  the  living  essence  in  the 
universe.  He  is  the  giver  of  life.  His  touch  vivi- 
fies. His  breath  quickens.  His  spirit  imparts  in- 
telligent and  moral  life.  He  speaks,  and  things 
grow. 

But  with  every  stage  of  increasing  life,  something 
is  added  which  was  not  before.  There  is  something 
in  vegetation  which  was  not  in  the  mineral;  that 
something  is  life.  There  is  something  in  an  ani- 
mal which  was  not  in  a  plant ;  that  is  more  life. 
There  is  something  in  man  in  capacity  and  possibil- 
ity which  was  not  in  the  animal;  that  is  still  more 
life.  There  is  something  in  Jesus  which  was  not 
in  man;  that,  too,  is  more  life.  Man,  in  respira- 
tion and  the  circulation  of  blood,  is  akin  to  vegeta- 
tion; and,  in  nervous  structure  and  feeling  man  is 
akin  to  the  whole  animal  kingdom;  but  there  is 
something  in  man  which  is  not  in  the  vegetable  nor 
in  the  animal  below  man.  Jesus  in  physical  and 
psychical  nature  is  like  man  and  akin  to  him :  but 
Jesus  in  moral  and  spiritual  nature  transcends  man. 

"The  invisible  things  of  God,"  says  Saint  Paul, 


The  Incarnation  lOl 


"are  clearly  seen  being  perceived  through  the  things 
that  are  made,  even  His  everlasting  power  and  di- 
vinity." Power  is  seen  in  the  roll  of  a  locomotive, 
and  power  is  seen  in  the  revolution  of  a  world.  Wis- 
dom is  seen  in  the  construction  of  a  watch,  and  wis- 
dom is  seen  in  the  construction  of  a  plant.  But  who 
can  tell  from  a  locomotive  what  is  the  moral  char- 
acter of  its  maker?  Who  can  tell  from  a  watch 
what  is  the  ruling  principle  of  the  man  who  made 
it?  Who  can  tell  from  the  material  universe,  so 
expressive  of  intelligence  and  power,  what  is  the 
moral  character  of  its  Creator?  How  shall  love, 
mercy,  pity,  compassion,  and  grace,  if  they  be  in 
God,  be  made  to  appear  to  men  ?  The  sun  does  not 
change  its  face  whether  its  beams  brighten  or  burn 
the  face  of  man.  The  sea  does  not  change  its  swell 
or  its  sound  whether  it  carries  the  ship  of  man  on  its 
waves  or  swallows  that  ship  in  its  depths.  A  gen- 
eral benevolence  may  appear  in  the  course  of  na- 
ture, but  specific  love  is  never  shown.  How  shall 
a  God  of  love  who,  loving,  obeys  love's  great  law  of 
sacrifice  be  made  known? 

The  New  Testament  says:  "God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  Son  for  men."  It  also 
says:  ''Hereby  know  we  love,  because  He  laid 
down  His  life  for  us."  Jesus  has  revealed  what 
nature  has  not  spoken  and  cannot  speak.  After 
Jesus'  revelation  was  given,  then,  an  account  of  His 
coming  into  the  world  could  be  given.  This  we 
have  in  the  New  Testament. 

Perhaps  it  had  been  as  well  if  the  Greek  mind 
never  had  attempted  to  define  the  person  of  Christ. 


I02  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

Light,  life  and  love  are  indefinable.  They  may  be 
described,  but  they  transcend  definition.  Christ 
loved  the  world  and  became  the  light  of  the  world 
and  the  life  of  the  world ;  but,  like  light  and  life, 
He  cannot  be  defined.  But  men  naturally  desire 
definition.  Much  that  has  been  written  about  the 
person  of  Christ  has  been  an  attempt  to  make  a 
mystery  comprehensible  to  the  human  mind.  Men 
have  described  Christ  as  "the  God-Man"  consist- 
ing of  two  natures,  in  one  person,  subsisting  side 
by  side,  like  oil  and  water,  each  with  its  own  quali- 
ties and  its  own  actions,  but  ever  distinct.  The 
simple  statement  of  the  New  Testament,  namely, 
that  "God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself,"  is  better.  This  is  a  statement  of  fact. 
What  Christ  is,  is  of  value.  How  he  came  to  be, 
might  be  left  unknown  or  to  be  known  later. 

However,  if  men  seek  an  explanation  of  the 
source  and  method  of  the  life  and  character  of  Jesus ; 
it  seems  to  me,  there  is  no  more  simple,  natural,  and 
scientific  setting  forth  of  the  case  than  that  given  by 
Saint  Luke  in  the  introduction  of  his  gospel. 

There  is  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  many  to 
deny  or  to  doubt  the  story  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  as 
related  by  Saint  Luke.  This  arises  largely,  I 
think,  from  certain  teaching  of  modern  times  which 
tends  to  create  a  feeling  that,  since  the  first  creation, 
nothing  new  or  extraordinary  has  happened  in  the 
world.  But  Jesus  is  something  both  new  and  ex- 
traordinary. Much  is  made  of  the  fact  that,  with 
the  exception  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  none  of  the 
other  New  Testament  authors  tell  the  story  of  the 


The  Incarnation  103 


birth  of  Jesus.  But  we  must  remember  that  the 
Fourth  Gospel  according  to  John  says:  That  "the 
Word  which  in  the  beginning  was  with  God  and 
was  God  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us."  The 
First  Epistle  of  John  says:  *'The  life  was  mani- 
fested, and  we  have  seen  it  and  bear  witness  and 
declare  unto  you  the  eternal  life  which  was  with  the 
Father  and  was  manifested  unto  us."  The  author 
of  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  says:  '*God  having 
spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the  prophets  hath  spoken 
unto  us  in  His  Son  whom  He  appointed  heir  of  all 
things,  through  whom  also  He  made  the  worlds." 
Saint  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  says: 
"In  Him  were  all  things  created  in  the  heavens  and 
upon  the  earth — all  things  have  been  created  through 
Him,  and  unto  Him:  and  He  is  before  all  things 
and  in  Him  all  things  consist."  The  denial  of  the 
truth  of  the  narrative  by  Saint  Luke  does  not  sim- 
plify matters,  or  leave  any  explanation  of  a  method 
by  which  such  an  "eternal  life"  and  transcendant 
person  became  incarnate  and  lived  among  men. 

Saint  Luke's  statement  seems  to  me,  personally,  the 
most  simple  and  the  most  satisfactory  account  of  the 
person  of  Jesus,  the  Christ,  which  ever  has  been 
given.  A  few  facts  concerning  life  as  we  know  it 
are  worth  noticing  in  this  connection.  Life  is  a 
mysterious  something  which  shapes  and  rules  every 
living  creature.  In  the  case  of  animals  and  men — 
whatever  may  be  the  life  of  each  physical  cell — even 
if  we  regard  an  animal  body  as  a  community  of 
cells — the  unifying  force  which  makes  one  plant  or 
one  animal,  and  gives  continuity  to  the  life,  is  the 


104  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

soul.  The  body  continually  changes,  but  the  soul 
constantly  remains.  The  psyche  in  beast  and  in 
man  is  the  formative  power  which  shapes  the  body, 
determines  the  actions,  and  makes  the  character. 
Each  creature  is  like  its  prenatal  disposition,  that  is, 
its  psyche  or  soul.  A  bull  dog  whose  nature  is  to 
seize  and  to  hold  on,  has  a  body  and  jaws  suited  for 
that  purpose.  A  hound  is  moulded  before  its  birth 
for  the  race.  A  deer  and  an  elephant,  a  draft  horse 
and  a  race  horse,  are  shaped  by  an  inner  nature  and 
each  animal  is  fitted  for  the  life  it  must  lead. 
Among  men,  character  is  like  the  physique,  because 
the  character  forms  the  physique.  Every  gifted  and 
great  man  is  endowed  before  his  birth  and  is  ordain- 
ed to  be  poet  or  painter,  sculptor  or  scholar,  prince 
or  prophet,  before  his  birth.  Whether  men  claim 
the  power  to  read  character  from  the  head,  from  the 
features  and  expression  of  the  face,  or  from  the  lines 
on  the  hand,  the  claim  is  based  upon  the  physical 
correspondence  with  the  inner  life. 

Through  the  body,  life  is  revealed  and  we  see  it, 
read  it,  and  know  it.  A  German  philosopher,  Scho- 
penhauer, in  his  treatise  on  The  World  As  Will 
and  Idea,  writing  on  heredity  and  with  no  thought 
of  Jesus  in  mind,  makes  these  suggestive  statements: 
"If  now  we  cast  upon  this  problem,  the  light  of  our 
fundamental  knowledge  that  the  will  is  the  true 
being,  the  kernal,  the  radical  element,  in  man ;  and 
the  intellect,  on  the  other  hand,  is  what  is  secondary, 
adventitious,  the  accident  of  that  substance;  before 
questioning  experience  we  will  assume  as  at  least 
probable  that  the  father  as  sexus  potior  and  the  pro- 


The  Incarnation  105 


creative  principle,  imparts  the  basis,  the  radical  ele- 
ment of  the  new  life,  thus  the  will  and  the  mother, 
as  sexus  sequior  and  merely  conceiving  principle,  im- 
parts the  secondary  element,  the  intellect;  that  thus 
the  man  inherits  his  moral  nature,  his  character,  his 
inclinations,  his  heart  from  the  father,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  grade,  quality,  and  tendency  of  his 
intelligence  from  the  mother.  Now  this  assumption 
actually  finds  its  confirmation  in  experience;  only 
this  cannot  be  decided  by  a  physical  experiment  upon 
the  table,  but  results  partly  from  the  careful  and 
acute  observation  of  many  years,  and  partly  from 
history." 

This  theory  may  not  be  capable  of  proof,  but  it  is 
suggestive  in  relation  to  the  common  theory  of  the 
Christian  church  in  respect  of  the  person  of  Jesus. 
In  Him,  derived  from  His  mother,  feeling,  thought, 
emotion  and  passion  in  all  ways  are  most  truly  hu- 
man and  common  to  men ;  and  the  spiritual  quality 
.and  moral  tone  of  His  life  are  truly  divine  and  coin- 
cide with  what  is  in  God  the  Father. 

Now  in  this  connection,  let  us  read  the  story  given 
us  by  Saint  Luke.  He  says  that  he  traced  carefully 
all  things  from  the  first  so  as  to  give  the  earliest 
traditional  belief  concerning  the  birth  and  life  of 
Jesus.  Saint  Luke  tells  us  that  the  angel  in  declar- 
ing to  Mary  how  the  promised  Son  should  come, 
said :  "The  Holy  Spirit  shall  come  upon  thee  and  the 
power  of  the  Most  High  shall  overshadow  thee: 
wherefore  also  the  holy  thing  which  is  begotten 
of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God."  This  may 
be  translated,  ''That  which  is  to  be  born,  shall  be 


io6  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

called  holy,  the  Son  of  God." 

God  is  a  spirit,  and  the  soul  of  Mary,  touched 
and  filled  by  the  Spirit  divine,  was  the  immediate 
source  of  that  soul,  that  living  essence,  which  filled 
and  formed  the  living  germ  from  which  the  body  of 
her  child  grew,  and  that  child  thus  begotten  and 
born  was  the  embodiment  and  the  expression  of  the 
eternal  life  and  of  the  divine  love.  So  the  divine 
life  imparted  itself  and  centered  itself  in  humanity. 
So  the  child,  one  in  life  and  one  in  personality,  hu- 
man in  condition  and  divine  in  disposition,  entered 
the  world  and  was  called  the  Son  of  man  and  the 
Son  of  God.  In  appetite,  passion,  intellect,  and  all 
elements  of  human  nature  He  was  the  brother  of 
men.  In  spiritual  quality  and  moral  tone.  He  was 
the  Son  of  God.  So  God  was  in  Christ  who  became 
thereby  the  image  of  the  invisible  God.  So  the 
divine  life  in  its  spirituality  dwelt  in  Him,  and  was 
revealed  through  Him. 

I  venture  the  above  suggestions  as  being  in  accord 
with  what  we  know  to  be  true  with  respect  to  the 
relation  of  the  soul  and  the  body  in  the  animal 
kingdom,  as  being  in  accord  with  respect  to  much 
that  we  know  to  be  true  of  man  in  natural  generation, 
as  being  in  accord  with  the  promise  made  to  Mary 
by  the  angel,  and  as  being  true  with  respect  to  the 
revelation  of  God  made  in  Jesus  Christ. 

I  do  not  make  these  suggestions  ex  cathedra  as  a 
philosophy  which  another  must  accept.  I  make  these 
suggestions  tentatively  as  a  possible  theory  which 
may  relieve  the  minds  of  some  persons  who  accept 
the  New  Testament  record,  but  are  troubled  because 


The  Incarnation  107 


of  ideas  suggested  by  the  material  side  of  physical 
birth.  I  do  not  claim  to  explain  a  mystery,  but  only 
to  put  forth  a  suggestion  which  seems  a  reasonable 
interpretation  of  the  manner  of  the  incarnation. 

In  Jesus  there  was  a  life  which  in  its  spiritual 
quality,  expression,  and  power,  men  felt  and  still 
feel  to  be  superior  to  all  other  life  in  this  world. 
Had  the  life  of  Jesus  in  its  source  and  in  its  quality 
been  just  the  same  as  the  life  of  every  man;  had  the 
beauty  and  the  power  of  the  life  of  Jesus  been  due 
simply  to  the  fact  that  He  willingly  received  more 
fully  of  the  divine  spirit  than  other  men ;  had  Jesus 
merely  illustrated  what  is  possible  for  other  men; 
then,  ere  this  time,  He  should  have  been  equalled  by 
other  men.  But  Jesus  remains  apart,  distinct  and 
supreme.  Men  see  in  Him,  and  not  in  His  disciples 
of  any  age,  the  image  of  the  invisible  God.  Men 
do  not  look  to  any  of  His  disciples,  but  to  Him  for 
the  gift  of  life.  Men  give  praise,  not  to  any  of  His 
disciples,  nor  to  the  entire  body  of  believers,  but  to 
Him  for  salvation.  Were  Jesus  simply  the  first 
among  many,  this  could  not  be  the  case.  Others 
would  share  His  position  in  the  thoughts  of  men  and 
share  also  His  power  and  His  glory.  Men  never 
think  of  placing  Paul,  nor  any  other  person  in  the 
place  of  Christ. 

This  unique  and  transcendent  position  could  not 
be  held  age  after  age,  were  there  not  something  in 
Jesus  to  justify  it.  Men  who  cannot  tell  in  any 
single  instance  whence  life  comes,  nor  how  it  comes, 
nor  what  it  is,  but  who  in  every  instance  know  it 
and  designate  it  by  what  it  does,  need  not  be  sur- 


io8  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

prised  at  the  inexplicable  mystery  of  the  life  of  Jesus. 
They  need  not  be  surprised  that  the  church,  with 
well-nigh  universal  uniformity,  has  held  fast  to  the 
doctrine  of  divine  incarnation.  The  church  which 
believes  that  God  has  spoken  in  many  prophets  by 
inspiration  believes  that  He  has  spoken  more  vitally 
in  a  Son.  The  church  believes  that  he  who  sees  the 
Son,  sees  the  Father  who  sent  Him.  This  knowl- 
edge of  God,  however,  is  not  primarily  an  intellec- 
tual knowledge  which  one  may  measure  and  mark 
limits  and  comprehend  as  one  may  know  a  material 
thing.  It  is,  rather,  the  knowledge  of  faith  and  love 
which  sees  and  feels  and  enjoys  as  a  growing  child 
sees  and  feels  and  enjoys  a  mother.  It  is  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  heart. 

It  is  the  moral  nature  of  God,  His  sentiment, 
feeling,  and  will  towards  men,  which  Jesus  makes 
known.  Save  the  one  statement  that  God  is  a  spirit, 
Jesus  says  nothing  about  the  metaphysical  nature 
of  God.  Jesus  tells  what  God  does  in  making  the 
sun  to  rise  and  the  rain  to  fall  upon  good  and  evil 
men  alike;  what  God  feels  in  that  He  loves  the 
world;  what  God  suffers  in  that  He  loves  with 
sympathy ;  what  God  knows  in  that  He  knows  the 
need  of  every  saint ;  what  God  hears  in  that  He 
listens  to  the  cry  of  the  needy;  what  God  wills  in 
that  it  is  His  will  to  save  and  to  keep  every  trustful 
soul  which  seeks  Him.  Jesus'  revelation  is  not  de- 
signed to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  mind,  but  to 
meet  the  need  of  the  humble,  penitent,  and  trust- 
ful   heart. 

What  a  man  may  know  by  intellectual  perception, 


The  Incarnation  109 


analysis,  and  reasoning,  is  always  inferior  to  the  man 
himself.  What  a  man  may  know  by  trust  and  love, 
and  by  communion  and  obedience  is  superior  to 
himself.  The  world  by  wisdom — that  is  by  intellec- 
tual acumen  and  apprehension — knew  not  God  and 
knows  Him  not.  The  world  by  wisdom  will  never 
know  God's  Son,  but  he  who  by  faith  knows  the 
Father,  will  know  the  Son,  and  he  who  by  love 
knows  the  Son  will  know  the  Father. 

It  is  not  by  arbitrary  choice  and  unreasonable 
action  on  the  part  of  God,  but  by  nature  of  a  trust- 
ful spirit  and  a  teachable  mind  that  things  hidden 
from  the  wise  and  prudent  are  revealed  unto  babes. 
A  child  is  not  the  equal  of  a  philosopher  in  intellec- 
tual acumen  and  knowledge,  but,  in  the  sphere  of  the 
spirit,  'things  which  are  hidden  from  the  philosopher 
may  be  revealed  to  the  child  because  he  is  using  the 
proper  organ.  One  can  never  perceive  light  by 
the  ear,  or  learn  music  by  the  eye,  or  know  the 
things  of  the  spirit  by  the  intellect.  "The  natural 
man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God; 
for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him :  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 
But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things."  It  is 
true  that  one  may  learn  the  symbols  of  music  by  the 
eye,  and  that  he  may  state  by  the  intellect  things 
which  are  known  by  the  heart;  but  music  itself 
must  be  learned  by  the  ear  and  the  things  of  the 
heart  must  be  known  by  the  heart  itself.  The  man 
who  loves,  knows  God ;   because  God  is  love. 

Jesus  praised  Peter,  when  Peter  called  Him  "The 
Son  of  God."     Jesus  promised  to  build  His  church 


no  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

upon  this  fact  and  on  this  confession.  But  there  is 
no  record  of  Jesus'  requiring  a  definition  of  His 
person  as  a  condition  of  receiving  healing  from  sick- 
ness, or  salvation  from  sin.  What  Jesus  did  require 
was  faith,  that  is,  belief  in  His  ability  to  help  and 
in  His  power  to  save.  According  to  faith,  the  bless- 
ing came.  Unbelief  was  the  only  limit.  The  limi- 
tation was  in  man,  not  in  Jesus.  In  some  places, 
Jesus  did  not  many  mighty  works,  because  of  their 
unbelief.  To  one  who  sought  a  blessing  from  Him, 
Jesus  said,  "All  things  are  possible  to  him  that  be- 
lieveth." 

The  leper  who  knelt  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  needed 
only  faith  to  say,  "Lord,  if  Thou  wilt,  thou  canst 
make  me  clean,"  to  feel  the  power  of  the  cleansing 
life.  The  woman  who  touched  the  hem  of  Jesus' 
garment  needed  only  faith  to  say,  "If  I  but  touch, 
I  shall  be  healed,"  to  be  made  whole.  The  sinful 
woman  who  wept  over  the  feet  of  Jesus  as  He 
reclined  at  table,  needed  only  faith  to  believe  that 
He  would  pardon  to  hear  Him  say,  "Thy  sins  are 
forgiven;    go  in  peace." 

Zaccheus,  the  publican  of  local  ill-repute,  needed 
only  the  faith  which  would  grant  hospitality  to  Jesus 
to  hear  Him  say,  "This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this 
house."  The  penitent  thief  on  the  cross  needed 
only  faith  to  lay  the  bruised  and  broken  remnant 
of  a  misspent  life  on  the  breast  of  Jesus  to  hear 
Him  say,  "To-day  thou  shalt  be  with  Me  in  para- 
dise." 

According  to  the  record  given  in  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  the  apostolic  church  required,  as  a  condi- 


The  Incarnation  iii 


tion  of  church  membership,  three  things,  namely: 
repentance  from  sin;  belief  that  Jesus,  whom  men 
crucified,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,  is  the 
Son  of  God;  and  belief  that  through  Him  forgive- 
ness of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  given 
to  them  who  believe.  Baptism  was  the  symbol  of 
the  washing  away  of  sins  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  the  visible  pledge  of  spiritual  communion.  No 
verbal  statement  of  the  manner  of  the  incarnation 
and  of  Jesus'  advent;  no  definition  of  the  meta- 
physical nature  of  Jesus'  person;  no  theory  of  the 
method  of  his  atonement ;  no  description  of  the 
processes  of  the  new  life  was  demanded  as  a  condi- 
tion of  discipleship  and  of  membership  in  the  church. 
This  was  both  wise  and  well. 

Few  men,  in  any  department  of  life,  care  for 
scientific  knowledge  or  for  philosophic  statement  of 
the  nature  and  relation  of  the  things  with  which 
they  deal.  Practical  knowledge  is  what  most  men 
desire  and  what  they  use.  Scientists  and  philoso- 
phers, however  useful,  are  few  in  number.  Most 
men  believe  in  the  things  which  they  use  without 
scientific  knowledge  of  them  and  the  practical  ends 
of  life  are  well  served.  This  is  quite  as  true  in 
spiritual,  as  in  material,  things. 

It  is  natural  for  men,  especially  for  some  men,  to 
formulate  their  thought  of  what  they  have  learned 
and  experienced,  and  creeds  are  a  natural  expres- 
sion of  Christian  belief.  A  creed  stated  in  simple 
language  and  used  for  liturgical  purposes  may  be 
valuable.  But  a  creed  used  as  a  fence  to  exclude 
from  the  communion  of  the  church  is  a  mistake. 


112  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

Truth  preached  for  purposes  of  instruction  and  in- 
spiration is  valuable,  but  the  creed  of  a  man  must 
be  a  growth  of  his  own  experience,  whether  he 
states  that  creed  in  his  own  language  or  in  the 
language  of  another. 

It  has  been  a  mistake  for  men  to  formulate  an  in- 
tellectual and  philosophical  creed, — like  the  Atha- 
nasian  creed,  for  example,  with  its  fine  distinctions 
of  the  persons  of  the  Trinity  and  of  the  person  of 
Jesus  Christ, — and  to  make  the  acceptance  of  its 
propositions  a  condition  of  receiving  salvation.  This, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  above  creed,  has  been  done, 
"Whosoever  will  be  saved;  before  all  things  it  is 
necessary  that  he  hold  the  Catholic  Faith.  Which 
Faith  except  every  one  do  keep  whole  and  undefiled : 
without  doubt  he  shall  perish  everlastingly." 

The  Greeks,  with  their  love  of  philosophical  spec- 
ulation and  of  scientific  analysis,  gave  to  the  church 
that  habit  of  mind  which  produced  the  Ecumenical 
creeds.  The  Romans  with  their  love  of  law  and 
power  gave  to  the  church  that  complex  organization 
which  issued  in  the  papacy.  The  Reformation 
broke  the  authority  of  the  latter  for  the  Protestant 
churches;  but  the  Reformation  retained  the  philo- 
sophic method  of  the  former  and  imposed  elaborate 
creeds  upon  Protestant  churches. 

After  centuries  of  contention,  division,  and  expe- 
rience, the  Protestant  churches  are  slowly  coming 
back  to  "the  simplicity  which  is  in  Christ."  In  re- 
ligion, the  heart  is  more  than  the  head.  Valuable 
as  clear  conceptions  and  even  definitions  are,  it  is  not 
intellectual  knowledge  of  truth  stated  in  philosoph- 


The  Incarnation  113 


ical  terms,  but  faith  in  a  Person  which  secures  sal- 
vation, and  love  for  persons,  which  fulfills  the  law 
of  Christian  living.  Jesus  has  given  faith,  which 
is  trust,  and  love,  which  is  devotion,  the  supreme 
place  in  the  Christian  system  and  in  the  soul  of  man. 
Jesus  has  declared  that  faith  is  the  condition  of  sal- 
vation, and  that  love  is  the  expression  and  fulfill- 
ment of  salvation.  Faith,  therefore,  entitles  a  man 
to  membership  in  the  Christian  church,  and  love  is 
the  evidence  of  his  worthiness  for  such  member- 
ship. This  the  church  is  coming  more  and  more  to 
see  and  to  accept.  This  fact  does  not  arise  from 
a  denial  of  the  faith  even  in  an  intellectual  form; 
but  from  that  love  which  admits  gradation  in 
knowledge  and  which  permits  differences  of  opinion 
in  the  sphere  of  the  intellect,  where  men  seeing  in 
part  and  knowing  in  part,  always  have  differed  and 
always  will  differ,  and  which  asserts  that  the  basis 
of  Christian  union  is  a  common  faith  in  a  com- 
mon Lord  and  a  common  love  as  the  motive  of 
righteous  living. 

This  is  what  the  church  must  come  to  in  prac- 
tical unity,  if  there  is  to  be  efficiency  in  a  community 
where  there  should  be  only  one  church.  This  is  the 
condition  to  which  the  church  must  come,  if  there 
is  to  be  united  power  in  withstanding  the  evil  which 
is  in  the  world.  This  liberty  must  be  allowed,  if  men 
are  to  be  permitted  to  think.  It  must  be  allowed  if 
the  best  thinkers  are  permitted  to  lead.  It  must  be 
admitted,  if  men  trust  the  truth.  It  must  be  admit- 
ted, if  we  believe  with  Jesus  that  "every  one  that 
is  of  the  truth  cometh  to  the  light,  and  that  every 


The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 


one  that  loveth,  knoweth  God." 

Certain  results  have  followed  the  revelation  of 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,  and,  historically,  have  followed 
the  course  of  the  gospel  of  grace. 

First,  polytheism  has  passed  and  is  passing  away. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  polytheism  as  an  attempt 
on  the  part  of  men  to  give  expression  to  their  con- 
ception of  the  divine  being  or  of  divine  beings,  it  re- 
sults, always,  in  crudeness  of  worship,  in  carnality 
of  life,  and  in  destruction  of  belief  in  human  broth- 
erhood. Where  each  race  or  tribe  has  its  own  god 
or  gods,  there  can  be  no  true  unity  among  men.  The 
preaching  of  the  gospel  has  been  followed,  always, 
by  the  passing  away  of  polytheism.  Its  temples  have 
fallen ;  its  altars  have  crumbled ;  its  idols  have  dis- 
appeared. Throughout  Christendom,  men  have 
come  to  believe  in  one  God. 

Second,  through  the  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ,  men  have  come  to  believe  in  God  as  a 
Father.  The  imperial  idea  of  God  gives  place 
to  the  paternal  idea  of  God.  This  does  not  mean 
that  the  conception  of  divine  power  has  passed  away, 
but  that  power  is  infused  with  love  and  adminis- 
tered in  grace.  There  is  more  power,  in  some  ways, 
in  the  family  than  in  the  state ;  in  a  father  than  in 
a  king,  but  the  administration  is  different,  and  its 
design  in  love  is  more  apparent.  Throughout 
Christendom,  men's  idea  of  God  is  that  of  a 
Father. 

Third,  following  the  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ  has  come  the  conception  of  human  brother- 
hood.    Slowly,  alas,  too  slowly,  is  brotherhood  be- 


The  Incarnation  115 


lleved  and  practiced ;  but  it  is  coming.  It  has  been 
coming  ever  since  Jesus  taught  men  to  pray  saying, 
''Our  Father,"  and  taught  them  to  love  as  He  loved. 
Nothing  was  more  marked  in  the  church  in  the  first 
instance  than  the  passing  of  Jewish  narrowness  and 
the  admission  of  Gentiles  to  brotherhood  in  the 
church.  Men  who  had  been  unwilling  to  eat  with 
Gentiles  saw  that  God  would  have  them  call  no 
man  unclean  because  of  his  race  or  nationality.  If 
God  is  one  and  loves  the  whole  race  of  mankind, 
then,  men  must  love  their  fellowmen  everywhere. 
Slowly,  this  fact  has  been  received  as  a  doctrine,  and 
more  slowly  has  it  been  admitted  in  practice ;  but  its 
reception  as  a  truth  is  gaining  rapidly  now  and  is  be- 
coming an  obsession  in  many  minds.  It  must  prac- 
tically rule  the  world.  It  is  a  truth  which  came 
with  Jesus  and  it  must  rule  where  he  is  King.  It 
must  be  held  that  He  who  does  not  love  men,  can- 
not love  God. 

Fourth,  following  the  revelation  of  the  law  of 
love  as  the  law  of  life  in  Jesus  Christ,  has  come  the 
belief  in  the  law  of  service  for  all  men.  Service 
always  has  been  in  the  world  but,  too  frequently, 
it  has  been  the  service  of  the  many  to  the  few  and 
of  the  weak  to  the  strong.  It  has  been  a  servile 
service  from  which  strong  men  have  sought  exemp- 
tion. But  since  Jesus  lived  as  one  who  served  and 
showed  that  service  is  the  law  of  life  to  which 
even  God  himself  is  subject,  service  has  been  seen 
as  a  liberty  of  love  which  glorifies.  Strong  men 
may  well  yield  obedience  to  this  law.  This  law  of 
life  is  now  recognized  in  all  Christendom.     Service, 


Ii6  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

like  efficiency,    is   now   one  of   the  most   common 
words,  and  expresses  a  common  conception  of  life. 

Service  has  long  been  demanded  of  certain  classes 
of  men.  The  preacher,  the  physician,  the  teacher, 
who  will  not  give  life  to  the  utmost,  has  long  been 
condemned  as  unworthy  of  his  profession.  This 
demand  of  service  is  spreading.  Indebtedness  is  bas- 
ed upon  ability.  Obligation  rests  on  opportunity. 
The  king  who  rules  for  himself  and  not  for  his 
people  is  deemed  unworthy  of  his  crown.  The  man 
of  wealth  who  keeps  his  wealth  for  himself  and  who 
does  not  share  it  with  his  fellowmen  and  leave  it  for 
their  benefit,  is  unhonored.  The  man  who  knows 
Christ  must  be  Christlike  in  his  living.  Had  not 
Jesus,  as  the  Son  of  God,  revealed  this  law  as  the 
very  law  of  the  divine  life,  men  would  not  have 
learned  to  love  as  He  loved.  These  four  great 
facts  and  forces,  namely :  belief  in  one  God,  faith  in 
God  as  a  Father,  the  thought  of  men  as  brothers, 
and  obedience  to  the  law  of  love  in  service,  all  have 
resulted  from  belief  in  the  incarnation  and  the  revel- 
ation of  God,  the  Father,  in  Jesus  Christ  the  Son. 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  New  Birth 

A  YELLOW  butterfly  glowing  in  the  sunshine, 
"^^  flying  swiftly  through  the  air,  lighting  daintily 
upon  flower  after  flower,  and  sipping  honey  from 
delicate  cups,  is  quite  unlike  a  caterpillar  of  which 
it  is  the  secondary  and  completed  form.  One  won- 
ders if  the  voracious  caterpillar  creeping  slowly  on 
the  ground,  eating  greedily,  and  casting  away  skin 
after  skin  to  make  way  for  a  new  one,  ever  imagines 
the  change  of  which  it  is  capable.  By  a  metamor- 
phosis during  which  the  natural  life  undergoes 
changes  which  lift  it  and  which  fit  it  for  a  higher  state 
of  existence,  the  caterpillar  undergoes  a  renewing  pro- 
cess which  makes  it  more  beautiful  in  form,  more 
dainty  in  taste,  and  more  refined  in  the  manner  of 
its  life.  It  is  the  same  life  in  essence,  but  a  higher 
life  in  its  purposes  and  in  the  use  of  its  powers.  The 
caterpillar  when  it  becomes  a  butterfly  is  refined, 
beautified,  and  physically  glorified. 

The  butterfly  is  a  physical  picture  of  a  psycholog- 
ical change  which  may  take  place  in  man.  "The 
caterpillar,  towards  the  end  of  summer,  waxeth  vola- 
tile, and  turneth  to  a  butterfly,"  says  Bacon.  Man, 
likewise,  as  his  life  progresses,  should  cease  to  be 
essentially  carnal  and  should  become  spiritual.  A 
man  should  become  new  by  the  regeneration  of  his 
soul,  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  his  mind,  and 
117 


Ii8  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

beautified  by  the  pervading  power  of  holy  love. 
With  the  butterfly,  that  is  not  first  which  is  volatile, 
fitting  it  for  flight  in  the  air,  but  that  which  is 
gross,  fitting  it  to  creep  upon  the  ground.  With 
man,  also,  as  Saint  Paul  has  so  well  said:  "That 
is  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which  is 
natural  or  psychical,  then,  that  which  is  spiritual  or 
pneumaticaW  That  which  takes  place  in  the  but- 
terfly is  a  metamorphosis,  a  change  of  form,  wrought 
by  action  of  natural  life  in  relation  to  the  earth. 
That  which  takes  place  in  man  is  a  regeneration,  a 
change  of  spirit  wrought  in  him  by  the  power  of  a 
spiritual  environment.  The  butterfly,  by  the  action 
of  a  natural  power,  is  lifted  to  a  little  higher  place 
in  the  kingdom  of  earth.  A  man,  by  action  of  a 
supernatural  power  touching  him  within,  is  lifted 
into  a  higher  state  called  ''the  kingdom  of  God." 
The  metamorphosed  butterfly  still  draws  its  life 
from  the  things  of  earth.  The  regenerated  man 
draws  his  life  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  An 
inspiration  fills  him  with  moral  motive  and  spiritual 
excellence.  Jesus  says:  "Except  a  man  be  born 
from  above,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
The  word  gennao  used  here  in  the  New  Testament, 
means  both  to  beget,  like  a  father,  and  to  bring 
forth,  like  a  mother.  It  may  refer  to  the  beginning 
of  life,  as  in  conception,  and,  also,  to  a  change  of  life, 
as  at  birth.  Both  meanings  are  included  in  Jesus' 
words.  He  affirms  that  life  must  be  imparted  by 
the  Spirit  and  that  life  must  be  lived  within  the 
environment  of  "the  kingdom  of  God."  Both  uses 
of  this  word  gennao  occur  elsewhere  in  the  New 


The  New  Birth  119 


Testament.  Men  who  experience  the  change 
wrought  in  regeneration  are  said  to  be  "begotten  of 
God,"  to  be  "born  of  God,"  and  to  be  "sons  of 
God."  This  is  the  destiny  for  which  man  has  been 
created,  but  he  may  fail  of  its  fulfilment.  A  cater- 
pillar is  made  to  become  a  butterfly,  but  a  caterpillar 
may  fail  to  reach  this  consummation  of  its  existence. 
A  man  is  born  into  the  world  to  become  a  son  of 
God,  but  a  man  may  fail  to  reach  this  consumma- 
tion of  his  creation  by  failing  to  find  and  to  fulfil 
the  conditions  of  a  completed  life.  If  it  were  left 
to  a  caterpillar  to  choose  whether  it  would  become 
a  butterfly,  it  might  refuse  to  accept  the  change.  It 
might  prefer  to  remain  a  caterpillar.  Man  is  a  crea- 
ture with  power  of  choice  and  with  liberty  of  choice. 
A  man  cannot  lift  himself  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven;  but  a  man  may  resist  the  power  which 
would  lift  him  into  that  kingdom;  he  may  prefer 
to  remain  wholly  within  the  communion  of  things  of 
the  earth. 

Several  years  ago,  Professor  Drummond  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  a  change  from  one  king- 
dom to  another  kingdom  in  the  ascending  scale  of 
being  is  accomplished,  always,  by  the  entrance  into 
the  lower  kingdom  of  a  new  and  transforming  force 
from  above.  The  mineral  never  can  transform  itself 
into  a  vegetable,  nor  can  the  mineral  kingdom,  of 
itself,  produce  a  vegetable.  A  seed  in  the  soil  is  the 
beginning  of  the  transformation  of  mineral  subs- 
tance into  vegetable  substance,  and  the  source  of  a 
vegetable  product.  Whence  life  first  came,  no  man 
knows  save  by  faith.     But  we  do  know  that  one 


120  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

form  of  life  and  being  cannot  lift  itself  into  a  higher 
kingdom.  Accepting  this  scientific  fact,  Professor 
Drummond  has  said:  ''The  world  of  natural  men 
is  staked  off  from  the  spiritual  world  by  barriers 
which  never  yet  have  been  crossed  from  within. 
No  organic  change,  no  modification  of  environment, 
no  mental  energy,  no  moral  effort,  no  evolution  of 
character,  no  progress  of  civilization,  can  endow  any 
single  soul  with  the  attribute  of  spiritual  life.  The 
spiritual  world  is  guarded  from  the  world  next  in 
order  beneath  it  by  a  law  of  biogenesis — except  a 
man  be  born  again,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Except  a  mineral  be  born  from  above — 
from  the  kingdom  just  above  it — it  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  just  above  it.  And  except  a  man 
be  born  from  above,  by  the  same  law,  he  cannot 
enter  the  kingdom  just  above  him." 

Let  it  be  noted,  however,  that  there  is  this 
important  difference  between  a  mineral  and  a  man. 
The  mineral  has  no  will.  Any  change  on  the  part 
of  a  mineral  is  without  volition  on  its  part,  without 
resistance,  and  without  choice.  A  man  has  will.  A 
man  cannot  regenerate  himself.  He  cannot  lift  him- 
self into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  can  neglect 
and  he  can  resist  the  action  of  the  force  which 
would  life  him  into  that  kingdom.  A  man  cannot 
live  without  air  in  the  kingdom  of  the  earth;  but 
a  man  may  resist  air,  refuse  to  breathe,  and  so  die. 
A  man  may  resist  and  refuse  the  vivifying  breath  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  so  fail  of  heavenly  life. 
This  is  the  constant  teaching  of  the  scriptures.    This 


The  New  Birth  I2l 


is  the  reason  that  men  are  said  to  be  renewed  and 
saved  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  reason  they  are 
said  to  be  held  responsible  and  guilty  for  their  fail- 
ure of  salvation.  This,  according  to  the  New  Test- 
ament, is  the  cause  of  the  divine  condemnation  of 
unsaved  men.  God  is  represented,  in  the  scriptures, 
as  coming  to  men,  being  present  with  men,  seeking 
to  renew  and  save  and  perfect  men.  Men  are  rep- 
resented as  resisting  God  and  refusing  salvation. 
Wisdom  calls  and  men  mock.  Light  shines  and  men 
love  darkness.  The  Son  of  God  comes  and  would 
save  and  men  will  not  accept  salvation.  The  Spirit 
woos,  and  men  resist  and  reject  the  saving  power. 
Therefore,  they  are  in  darkness,  without  light,  and 
doomed  to  die.  This  has  been  the  history  of  man- 
kind from  the  beginning,  on  the  downward  side  of 
carnality,  worldliness,  and  wickedness.  Adam  chose 
to  go  downward  not  upward,  to  live  in  the  flesh  not 
in  the  spirit,  and  so  lost  Eden.  Some  men  have 
been  doing  the  same  thing  ever  since.  Men  live 
under  varying  degrees  of  light  and  of  opportunity; 
but  the  ultimate  condemnation  of  men  always  rests 
upon  the  fact  that  they  have  refused  to  be  saved. 
They  have  refused  to  go  up.  Therefore,  the  con- 
demnation comes  because  they  have  not  the  life  of 
the  spirit  which  is  love.  They  have  not  given  bread 
to  the  hungry,  nor  water  to  the  thirsty,  nor  ministry 
to  those  in  need.  They  have  lived  in  the  flesh ;  they 
belong  to  the  world ;  they  have  no  part  in  the  king- 
dom; their  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of 
life.  This  condemnation  on  account  of  something 
negative,  on  account  of  what  men  have  not  and  are 


122  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

not,  is  in  keeping  with  the  judgment  of  life  every- 
where. 

When  this  truth  is  more  clearly  seen  than  it  has 
been  seen,  evangelists  will  not  direct  their  anathemas 
so  primarily  against  the  drunkard,  the  adulterer,  the 
thief,  and  the  persons  who  frequent  places  of  amuse- 
ment as  though  these  were  sinners  par  excellence; 
preachers  will  not  single  certain  sins  as  the  con- 
demning ones  to  the  comfort  of  a  moral,  self-right- 
eous and  self-satisfied  congregation;  but  evangelists 
and  preachers  alike  will  declare  that  the  sin  which 
shuts  the  door  of  heaven  and  brings  abiding  con- 
demnation is  the  sin  of  refusing  to  accept  the  higher 
life. 

This  is  not  intended  to  say  that  immorality,  vice, 
and  crime  are  not  sins  and  do  not  bring  consequences 
of  heavy  penalty;  but  it  is  intended  to  say  that  the 
absence  of  immorality,  vice,  and  crime  does  not 
constitute  salvation.  Freedom  from  vice  and  crime 
will  leave  any  man  free  from  their  special  penalties; 
but  this  mere  negative  goodness  will  not  constitute 
eternal  life.  What  does  a  man  do  more  than  an 
animal  when  he  simply  keeps  himself  temperate, 
loves  his  mate,  cares  for  his  children,  is  decent  in 
habit,  and  well-groomed  in  body  and  mind?  That 
is  simply  to  be  adjusted  to  the  world,  that  is  simply 
to  live  well  in  the  present  order,  that  is  to  get  the 
best  for  one's  self  under  earthly  conditions,  and  it 
will  receive  its  reward ;  but  that  is  not  faith  in 
God,  it  is  not  fellowship  with  Christ,  it  is  not  living 
in  communion  with  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  heaven, 
it  is  not  loving  as  Jesus  loved,  it  is  not  living  as  He 


The  New  Birth  123 


lived,  it  is  not  a  service  animated  by  loving  self- 
surrender  to  the  will  of  God  and  to  the  sacrificial 
w2iY  of  Christ.  It  has  no  part  in  the  kingdom  of 
heavenly  and  holy  love. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  life  in  this  world 
the  opposite  of  this,  namely,  the  life  of  those  who 
have  chosen  the  upward  side  and  have  increased  in 
love  and  in  devoted  living.  From  the  beginning, 
some  have  chosen  this  life.  Let  them  be  called 
saints,  or  sons  of  God,  or  children  of  the  Highest, 
or  what  you  will;  they  have  been  lifted  out  of  the 
life  of  selfishness,  self-seeking,  self-indulgence  and 
neglect  of  things  of  the  spirit,  and  they  have  been 
lifted  into  the  kingdom  of  love,  worship,  conse- 
cration, devotion,  generous  sympathy,  and  altru- 
istic service.  Wherever  they  are  found,  they  are 
marked  as  being  in  spirit  of  a  high  order,  children 
of  the  upper  kingdom. 

The  life  of  the  new-born  is  a  Christ-like  life.     As 
an  old  writer  has  said: 

"Though  Christ  be  born  a  thousand  times  in  Beth- 
lehem 
Yet  if  he  be  not  born  within  thine  own  soul 
His  birth  is  all  in  vain  to  thee." 

The  Christ-like  life  is  reverent,  worshipful,  trust- 
ful, loving,  self-sacrificing,  and  serviceable.  It 
transcends  life  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  world  not, 
chiefly,  in  the  moralities  of  decent  living,  but  in 
the  motives,  purposes,  choices,  and  activities  of  life. 
A  merchant  who  goes  to  a  foreign  country,  though  he 


124  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

deals  honestly,  which  is  good,  simply  that  he  may 
gain  riches  for  himself,  is  not  animated  by  the  same 
kind  of  motive  as  a  missionary  who  goes  to  the  same 
country,  and  lives  self-denyingly,  that  he  may  give 
the  gospel  to  the  natives.  The  one  goes  to  a  foreign 
country  to  get  for  himself;  the  other  goes  that  he 
may  give.  This  may  serve  as  a  picture  to  illustrate 
the  difference  between  the  once-born  man  and  the 
twice-born  man.  Selfishness  in  some  form  is  the 
spirit  of  the  once-born  man,  and  self-enjoyment  in 
some  way  is  the  motive  in  his  living.  Love  in  some 
form  is  the  spirit  of  the  twice-born  man  and  service 
in  some  way  is  the  motive  in  his  living. 

This  higher  life,  like  every  lower  life,  is  silent 
and  secret  in  its  inception  and  it  reveals  itself  by  its 
various  forms  of  expression.  It  has  a  breath,  an 
atmosphere,  a  tone,  a  touch  by  which  its  higher  and 
heavenly  qualities  are  made  known.  It  is  a  life 
of  the  spirit,  and  it  is  spiritually  discerned. 

Jesus  says  this  life  comes  from  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  belongs,  in  its  development,  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  It  proceeds  from  a  vital  touch  of  the  di- 
vine Spirit,  and  it  grows  by  communion  with  such 
things  as  are  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  This  is  no 
more  mysterious  than  life  elsewhere.  An  eagle  in 
the  shell  has  a  beak  which  may  be  strong,  eyes  which 
may  see,  and  wings  which  may  sweep  the  air;  but 
in  the  shell  the  beak  is  weak,  the  eyes  are  without 
sight,  and  the  wings  are  without  power.  When  the 
eagle  bursts  the  shell  and  enters  the  larger  world  of 
light  and  air ;  then,  the  beak  grows  strong,  the  eyes 
become  keen  in  sight,  the  wings  beat  the  air  with 


The  New  Birth  125 


power  of  flight,  and  the  eagle  is  perfect  of  its  kind. 
So  the  soul  of  man  touched,  first,  with  vivifying 
power  and,  then,  born  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
becomes  a  complete  soul  and  perfect  after  the  divine 
idea.  The  New  Testament  teaches  that  the  pres- 
ence and  power  of  the  divine  spirit,  like  the  pres- 
ence and  power  of  light  and  air  in  the  physical 
kingdom,  are  always  in  the  world  moving  upon  men 
to  give  them  this  life  from  above. 

In  Freiburg,  Germany,  there  is  a  celebrated  or- 
gan. One  day,  Mendelssohn  visited  Freiburg  to 
see  this  organ  of  which  he  had  heard.  He  found 
an  old  man,  the  verger,  within  the  church.  Men- 
delssohn asked  permission  to  play  upon  the  organ. 
This  was  denied  him.  But  the  great  man  talked  so 
intelligently  and  so  lovingly  of  the  organ  that  at 
length  the  verger  consented  to  let  him  play  upon 
it.  Presently,  the  fingers  of  the  musician  began  to 
move  caressingly  over  the  keys  and  the  church  be- 
came filled  with  such  music  as  the  verger  never 
had  heard.  He  stood  entranced,  touched  and 
charmed  by  the  sweet  tones.  He  never  had  known 
the  capabilities  of  that  organ.  "Who  are  you?"  he 
exclaimed,  as  the  music  ceased,  ''I  am  Mendels- 
sohn," was  the  reply.  *'And  to  think,"  said  the 
verger,  "that  I  was  unwilling  to  permit  you  to  play 
upon  that  organ."  Man  is  like  this  organ.  He  is  a 
creature  of  great  potential  powers;  but  he  needs  to 
be  touched  in  his  feelings  and  emotions,  his  affec- 
tions and  his  choices,  by  a  spirit  which  will  bring 
out  all  the  possible  good  which  is  in  him.  We  may 
not  know  all  the  meaning  of  Jesus'  words  respecting 


126  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

the  new  birth,  but  we  can  know  the  truth  of  his  say- 
ing, ''That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and 
that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  While 
we  must  leave  the  inception  of  the  spiritual  life  in 
the  silence  and  secrecy  which  belongs  to  the  begin- 
ning of  all  life,  yet  we  know  enough  of  the  power 
of  spiritual  touch  and  the  method  of  spiritual  cul- 
ture to  be  well  assured  of  the  processes  of  spiritual 
growth.  We  know  that  that  which  touches  a  man 
only  through  his  fleshly  nature,  never  elevates  him, 
and  that  it  frequently  degrades  him.  We  know, 
also,  that  that  which  touches  the  springs  of  a  man's 
soul  may  make  him  a  new  creature ;  it  may  elevate, 
refine,  and  save  him.  Instances  of  this  are  numer- 
ous, and  a  few  may  serve  the  purpose  of  illustration. 

In  one  of  George  Eliot's  books,  Silas  Marner,  an 
English  weaver  who  has  been  crossed  in  love  and 
disappointed  in  business,  shuts  himself  away  from 
his  fellow  men  and  lives  alone  plying  his  trade.  He 
saves  his  money  until  he  comes  to  live  for  the  gold 
he  may  earn,  over  which  he  gloats  in  a  perverted 
love  by  night.  Loving  gold,  he  is  debased  by  it 
until  he  becomes  a  miser  of  narrow  type.  Suddenly 
and  unexpectedly,  a  little  girl  is  left  with  him.  In 
caring  for  her  whose  beauty  of  spirit  he  discerns, 
his  captivity  to  gold  is  broken.  He  loves  her  with 
the  ardor  of  a  strong  heart.  He  becomes  a  man 
dominated  by  love.  That  which  is  born  of  the 
spirit  is  spirit,  in  him. 

In  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery  in  Washington,  is 
the  original  statue  of  The  Greek  Slave,  by  an  Amer- 
ican sculptor,  Powers.    A  story  to  this  effect  is  told 


The  New  Birth  127 


of  this  statue.  When  that  statue,  a  figure  of  a 
woman  exquisitely  formed  and  with  a  face  of  sur- 
passing purity  and  sweetness,  but  chained  as  a  slave, 
was  first  exhibited  in  a  window  in  Rome,  a  common 
servant  girl  stopped  to  look  upon  it.  Standing  be- 
fore that  statue,  she  was  struck  by  the  purity  and 
beauty  of  one  of  her  own  class,  a  slave.  She  went 
home,  washed  her  face,  combed  her  hair,  and  ad- 
justed her  dress  to  such  neatness  as  was  possible, 
bay  after  day,  she  returned  to  look  upon  this  figure 
of  a  slave  made  beautiful  by  the  purity  of  an  inward 
life,  until  she  herself  was  transformed  by  its  influ- 
ence. It  was  not  the  marble,  not  the  lines  of  physi- 
cal beauty,  but  the  conception  of  womanly  purity, 
modesty,  and  sweetness  w^hich  the  artist  had  caused 
to  express  themselves  through  the  marble  which 
touched  the  soul  of  the  servant  maid,  set  her  free, 
and  made  her  beautiful.  It  was  spirit  which  spoke  to 
spirit.     That  which  is  born  of  the  spirit,  is  spirit. 

Recently,  I  heard  a  man  condemn  the  popular 
conception  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as  the  embodiment  of 
beauty  which  has  been  held  by  the  church  in  an 
idealized  manner.  He  proceeded  to  describe  Mary 
in  terms  of  the  physical  form  of  a  common  peasant 
woman  of  Galilee.  His  description  may  have  been 
photographically  true,  but  it  pained  me.  What  has 
there  been  in  Mary  which  has  held  the  mind  of  the 
church  to  the  high  ideal  of  her?  This:  her  purity; 
her  modesty  when  the  angel  spoke  to  her;  her  sub- 
mission to  the  divine  will,  "Be  it  unto  me  accord- 
ing to  thy  word;"  her  trust  in  facing  a  situation 
which  might  blacken  her  reputation;    her  patience 


128  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

in  waiting  through  long  years  for  the  revelation  of 
her  son ;  her  wisdom,  keeping  all  the  great  promises 
in  her  heart;  her  supreme  sufferings,  ''Now  there 
stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother," — these 
are  the  great  qualities  which  the  heart  has  felt 
and  which  may  have  prompted  the  imagination  to 
exaggerate  her  physical  beauty.  But  what  does  it 
matter?  Is  not  the  heart  the  chief  element  of  value? 
I  doubt  not  but  many  a  humble  girl  and  many  a 
suffering  woman  kneeling  before  an  image  of  the 
Virgin  have  found  there  inspiration  to  purity,  mod- 
esty, trustfulness,  patience,  and  heroism  in  suffer- 
ing which  have  greatly  blessed  them.  Is  the  trellis 
on  which  a  morning  glory  climbs,  a  matter  of  chief 
value?  Are  not  the  flowers,  bright  in  the  sunlight, 
what  a  man  wants?  Does  God  care  greatly  for 
the  ladder  on  which  some  soul  climbs  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  beauty,  if  that  soul  is  thereby  beautified? 
That  which  is  born  of  the  spirit  is  spirit. 

At  one  time,  passing  through  a  ward  of  a  hos- 
pital, where  it  was  my  duty  to  minister  to  patients, 
I  came  to  a  bed  on  which  lay  a  stalwart  Irishman 
greatly  afflicted  and  unable  even  to  lie  in  a  comfort- 
able position.  I  expressed  my  sympathy  for  him  in 
his  unusual  sufferings.  Turning  towards  me,  he 
said,  "The  Saviour  suffered  more  for  us,  sor,  and 
we  should  be  willing  to  suffer."  This  man's  theory 
of  the  nature  and  purpose  of  Christ's  suf- 
ferings may  have  differed  from  the  opinions 
of  some  others,  but  his  vision  of  the  suf- 
fering Christ  made  him  patient  in  suffering 
and  peaceful  in  pain.     That  which  is  born  of  the 


The  New  Birth  129 


spirit,  IS  spirit. 

The  heart  is  deeper  than  the  intellect,  and 
prompts  to  higher  living  and  holier  character.  Truth 
received  by  the  mind,  must  sink  into  the  depths  of 
a  man's  nature  where  the  sources  of  action  are,  if 
it  is  to  move  and  transform  him.  It  is  not  abstract 
truth,  but  truth  embodied  in  living  character,  which 
God  uses  to  save  men.  God  speaks  in  prophets. 
God  reveals  himself  in  a  Son.  Life  is  saved  and 
trained  by  life.  If  a  man  cannot  see  beauty  when 
it  is  set  before  him ;  then,  he  cannot  be  taught  what 
is  beautiful.  If  a  man  cannot  hear  music;  then, 
he  cannot  be  taught  music.  If  a  man  cannot  see 
goodness  when  it  is  set  before  him;  then,  he  cannot 
be  taught  goodness. 

Jesus  used  this  method  of  teaching.  He  washed 
the  disciples  feet  and  then  bade  them  follow  His 
example  in  the  spirit  of  humility  and  service.  Jesus 
loved  men  to  the  point  of  giving  His  life  for  them 
and  then  bade  His  disciples  love  as  He  loved.  Jesus 
presented  the  Father  to  men  in  the  regnant  greatness 
of  His  love  and  mercifulness,  and  then  bade  them 
be  merciful  as  the  Father  is  merciful,  and  gracious 
as  the  Father  is  gracious,  and  perfect  as  the  Father 
is  perfect. 

This  was  the  practical  method  used  by  the 
apostles.  When  Saint  Paul  would  enlarge  the  Chris- 
tians of  Corinth  in  generous  sympathy  to  the  point 
of  giving  liberally  for  the  relief  of  poor  saints  in 
Jerusalem,  he  said,  'Tor  ye  know  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though  He  was  rich,  yet 
for  your  sakes  He  became  poor,  that  ye  through  His 


130  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

poverty  might  become  rich."  When  Peter  would 
comfort  servants  who  suffered  unjustly  at  the  hands 
of  cruel  masters,  he  said:  "If  when  ye  do  well  and 
suffer  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently,  this  is  accept- 
able with  God.  For  hereunto  were  ye  called;  be- 
cause Christ  also  suifered  for  you,  leaving  3^ou  an 
example,  that  ye  should  follow  His  steps."  When 
Saint  John  would  call  the  disciples  to  heroism,  he 
said:  **He  laid  down  his  life  for  us:  and  we  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren."  By  touch- 
ing the  souls  of  men  by  the  mercy  of  God,  by  the 
love  of  Christ,  and  by  the  heroism  of  his  sacrifice, 
the  apostles  who  called  men  into  His  kingdom  and 
glory,  sought  to  awaken  similar  graces  in  them. 
That  which  is  born  of  the  spirit  is  spirit. 

That  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  spiritual  regenera- 
tion by  which  men  are  renewed  and  made  new  men 
is  a  fact  of  experience  and  a  fact  of  observation. 
There  are  those  who  testify  to  the  change  which 
has  been  wrought  in  them,  and  there  are  those  who 
bear  witness  to  the  great  change  which  they  have 
seen  in  others.  In  the  record  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, there  is  account  of  men  who  became  new 
with  clearer  knowledge  of  truth,  with  wider  vision, 
with  more  generous  sympathies,  and  with  more 
altruistic  purposes,  and  whose  lives  were  spent  in  the 
loving  service  of  mankind. 

The  annals  of  the  church  contain  the  names  of 
many  who  were  changed  from  an  open  life  of  fleshly 
vice  into  a  life  of  spiritual  virtue.  The  historian, 
Gibbon,  who  will  not  be  charged  with  prejudice  for 
Christianity,   frankly  says,  "The  friends  of  Chris- 


The  New  Birth  131 


tianity  may  acknowledge  without  a  blush,  that  many 
of  the  most  eminent  saints  had  been  before  their 
baptism  the  most  abandoned  sinners.  As  they 
emerged  from  sin  and  superstition  to  the  glorious 
hope  of  immortality,  they  resolved  to  devote  them- 
selves to  a  life  not  only  of  virtue,  but  of  penitence. 
The  desire  for  perfection  became  the  ruling  passion 
of  their  soul." 

In  modern  times,  there  are  changes  quite  as 
marked.  Mr.  Begbie,  in  Twice-Born  Men,  relates 
the  experience  of  men  in  Ceylon  and  in  India.  These 
men  have  been  accused  by  their  fellow  men  of  being 
possessed  by  devils.  Their  spirit  and  manners  give 
every  mark  of  demonical  possession.  Under  influ- 
ences of  missionaries  of  the  Salvation  Army,  some 
of  them  become  rational,  quiet,  and  docile.  Under 
the  spell  of  Christ  they  become  very  useful,  giving 
every  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart  and  soul.  They 
become  entirely  new  men.  The  change  is  as  marked 
as  in  any  case  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  They 
too  give  credit  to  Christ  for  the  change. 

Great  changes  in  character  occur,  also,  in  Chris- 
tian lands.  Many  who  have  been  abandoned  sin- 
ners become  eminent  and  useful  saints.  But  it  is 
not  in  such  changes  that  we  need  feel  compelled  to 
look  for  evidences  of  the  new  birth.  It  is  the  quality 
of  the  life  and  not  its  contrast  to  a  former  mode  of 
living  which  attests  its  spiritual  character.  Faith 
and  love  and  devotion  mark  the  new  life,  though 
one  may  have  grown  in  it  from  childhood,  and  never 
may  have  known  another  spirit.  It  is  the  quality 
of  life  rather  than  any  contrast  to  previous  exper- 


132  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

iences  which  marks  it  as  belonging  to  the  heavenly 
kingdom.  Many  have  been  led  from  infancy  in  the 
footsteps  of  Christ.  They  exhibit  the  reality  of  a 
Christ-like  life  among  men.  Faith  is  the  ruling 
principle  in  their  life,  and  love  is  their  motive  power. 
In  such  persons,  the  flesh  is  subject  to  the  spirit, 
the  world  is  subjected  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
purity  is  more  than  pleasure,  truth  is  more  precious 
than  gain,  integrity  is  more  than  position,  to  do  the 
will  of  God  is  more  than  to  please  men,  and  to  win 
the  praise  of  God  is  sweeter  than  to  hear  the  plau- 
dits of  the  world.  The  twice-born  man  does  not 
desire  to  possess  personally,  to  own  legally,  and  to 
use  selfishly,  simply  for  himself;  but  he  desires  to 
possess,  to  own,  and  to  use  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
for  the  good  of  men.  The  twice-born  man  does 
certain  things  because  they  are  godlike,  such  as  the 
Father  does;  he  does  other  things  because  love 
prompts  the  doing  of  them ;  he  does  still  other 
things  because  the  cry  of  need  appeals  to  him.  The 
authority  which  he  obeys  is  in  his  spirit;  the  law 
is  within  his  heart ;  the  deed  is  without  gain  to  him- 
self. As  the  sun  shines  because  it  is  its  nature  to 
shine;  as  flowers  bloom  and  breathe  their  fragrance 
on  the  air  because  they  must ;  as  fruit  ripens  and 
hangs  ready  for  the  hand  which  will  pluck  it;  so 
the  goodness  of  the  new  man  is  spontaneous,  free, 
and  beneficient.  Like  Jesus,  the  souls  of  such  men 
lie  open  heavenward  for  inspiration,  and  open  earth- 
ward to  hear  the  cry  of  need.  They  are  sons  of 
God ;  they  are  servants  of  men ;  they  are  living 
souls  whose  love  and  ministry  make  an  enduring 


The  New  Birth  133 


society  possible.  It  should  be  remembered,  always, 
that  the  man  who  is  born  of  the  Spirit  begins  as  a 
babe  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  is  still  in  the 
flesh ;  appetite  and  passion  may  be  strong  within 
him.  But  a  new  force  is  working  within  him  to 
subject  every  appetite  and  passion  and  power  to  the 
law  of  God. 

A  modern  woman  who  passed  through  the  not 
uncommon  experience  of  seeking  to  find  physical 
health  and  mental  comfort  and  ease  for  herself 
alone,  and  who,  intellectuality,  passed  through  the 
mists  and  twilights  of  New  Thought  and  occult 
searchings  after  philosophic  truth ;  relates  her  exper- 
ience by  saying,  "When  I  say  that  I  became  a  Chris- 
tian, I  mean  to  use  the  words  of  the  evangelists,  that 
*I  found  Christ';  or  to  use  the  words  that  seem  to 
describe  what  actually  happened,  I  was  'born  again.* 
This  process  of  introduction  took  about  three 
months.  It  was  cumulative  in  method  and  results. 
It  was  by  neither  a  reasoning  nor  an  emotional  pro- 
cess that  this  knowledge  (if  one  may  use  so  cold  a 
word  of  so  warm  a  thing)  came,  but  a  sort  of  grad- 
ual stimulation  of  the  soul;  a  fanning,  as  it  were, 
of  the  spark  of  Godhead  within  me  till  the  life  of  the 
soul  took  command  of  the  whole  life ;  till  the  divine 
spark  burst  into  a  'consuming  fire,'  till  that  point 
was  reached  where  aspiration  becomes  realization. 
*I  lost  myself  and  lost  the  desire  of  having  my  own 
way,  in  the  love  of  the  way  of  Christ.'  "  This 
woman  might  have  said,  as  a  man  of  an  ancient  time 
said,  "Christ  liveth  in  me."  That  is  to  say,  the 
spirit  which  animated  and   controlled   Christ,   ani- 


134  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

mates  and  controls  the  person  who  is  born  of  the 
spirit. 

''The  difference  between  the  spiritual  man  and 
the  natural  man  is  not  a  difference  of  development, 
but  of  generation."  In  the  beginning,  the  difference 
between  a  man  of  the  world  and  a  man  of  the 
kingdom  may  be  invisible  to  the  eye  of  man.  Indeed, 
if  by  nature  and  by  culture,  the  man  of  the  world 
is  the  finer  man,  he  may  seem  to  be  the  better  man. 
Along  some  lines,  also,  the  man  of  the  world  may  be 
the  better  man.  But,  as  in  all  life,  the  difference 
will  become  more  marked  as  time  passes.  The  man 
who  is  not  conformed  to  the  world,  but  who  is  being 
transformed,  will  become  visibly  the  better  man.  At 
first,  the  difference  is  wholly  within  and  hence  hid- 
den from  the  eye.  It  is  a  keener  sense  of  God,  a 
spirit  of  trust  in  Him,  a  grateful  heart,  an  obedient 
will,  a  desire  to  submit  to  the  will  of  God  and  to 
obey  that  will,  and  an  increasing  power  of  love. 
At  last,  when  completed,  it  will  be  conformity  to  the 
image  of  God  and  likeness  to  Christ.  The  divine 
purpose  in  creation  will  be  complete  in  Christian 
character.  ''Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy," 
a  poet  sang.  But  more  truly,  by  far,  heaven  lies 
about  us  in  our  age,  if  life  has  been  spent  in  learning 
the  will  and  the  way  of  God. 

The  sad  thing  which  suggests  failure  of  a  suc- 
cessful life  on  the  part  of  some  persons,  is  the  fact 
that  they  do  not,  by  any  voluntary  action,  place 
themselves  in  contact  with  those  places  and  persons 
and  means  and  forces  which  may  awaken  and  culti- 
vate the  spiritual  life.     Some,  indeed,  seem  sedu- 


The  New  Birth  135 


lously  to  avoid  all  such  places  and  persons.  Churches, 
sermons,  sacred  songs,  liturgies,  societies  for  render- 
ing Christian  service,  are  all  efficient  means  of  cul- 
tivating spiritual  life.  To  some  persons,  these  offer 
no  attraction;  to  some  they  are  valuable  for  their 
incidents,  such  as  sociability,  and  not  for  their  soul. 
Some  find  them  a  means  of  grace  and  of  growth. 

How  shall  one  who  wilfully  avoids  all  places 
where  music  is  heard  or  taught  or  practiced,  grow 
in  musical  nature  and  culture  ?  How  shall  one  who 
takes  pains  to  avoid  all  places  of  art  and  beauty, 
grow  in  esthetic  nature  and  in  the  love  of  beauty? 
How  shall  one  who  avoids  all  places  and  persons 
suggesting  God  and  revealing  God,  grow  in  the 
likeness  of  God?  That  is  impossible.  To  pursue 
such  a  course  is  to  turn  deliberately  away  from  light 
and  from  spiritual  life.  A  spiritual  capacity  unused, 
like  an  unused  physical  power,  will  atrophy  and  be 
lost. 

But  such  persons  as  place  themselves  voluntarily 
under  the  influences  of  such  means  and  of  such  per- 
sons as  awaken  a  sense  of  truth  and  righteousness 
and  love,  will  grow  continually.  And  a  successful 
life  must  ever  come  from  following  the  way  of  Him 
who  is  the  truth  and  the  life. 

Look  then  on  any  vision  which  through  art  may 
speak  to  you  of  purity  and  moral  beauty.  Listen 
and  hear  any  voice  which  through  music  speaks 
to  you  of  love  and  of  worship  and  praise.  Learn  to 
see  and  know  on  the  page  of  literature,  the  saintly 
characters  which  glow  and  are  radiant  with  the 
warmth  of  sweet  sympathy,  and  which  are  regal  in 


136  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

the  greatness  of  a  serviceable  life.  Behold  the 
matchless  person  of  Christ  as  He  stands  out  upon 
the  page  of  the  scriptures  until  you  are  inflamed 
with  a  desire  to  be  like  Him.  Interpret  the  circum- 
stances of  life  in  the  light  of  the  divine  purpose  of 
training  of  character.  Yield  ever  to  the  inspira- 
tions of  the  Spirit  which  touch  the  soul  in  many 
ways  to  inspire  goodness.  Then,  your  years  will 
not  be  spent  in  vain,  but  you  will  find  and  you  will 
know  the  way  of  a  truly  successful  life. 

Love  is  a  unifying  force.  Love  unites  man  to 
God  and  to  men.  Love  saves.  The  loving  man 
lives.  The  life  of  love  endures  not  by  virtue  of  any 
arbitrary  decree,  but  because  of  its  own  inherent 
nature.  The  life  of  love  is  eternal  in  its  essence, 
and  the  kingdom  to  which  it  belongs  is  an  eternal 
kingdom. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Love  as  an  Atmosphere 

"V/T  OST  days  drop  behind  us  into  the  common 
^^■^  pathway  of  the  past  and  are  forgotten.  They 
have  no  distinguishing  feature  and,  in  memory,  they 
blend  in  indistinctness  with  many  such  days.  Some 
days  are  remembered  because  each  is  an  anniver- 
sary of  an  event  of  importance.  A  few  days  are 
remembered  for  what  they  were  in  themselves.  One 
such  day  stands  out  vividly  in  my  own  memory.  A 
blue  sky  bright  and  unclouded,  a  pure  air  exhilarat- 
ing like  wine,  mountain  heights  to  be  climbed  with 
joy,  a  wide  view  of  an  enlarged  and  beautiful 
world,  and  simple  physical  and  mental  delight  in 
the  mere  fact  of  living  made  that  day  remain  clear 
and  distinct  in  memory.  It  lives  because  it  was  a 
day  of  full  joyous,  triumphant  life. 

The  thing  most  essential  and  most  valuable  to 
the  life  of  any  creature  is  atmosphere.  The  atmos- 
phere which  we  breathe  is  not  air  composed  of  oxy- 
gen and  nitrogen  alone,  but  air  suffused  with  sun- 
shine, moistened  with  vapor,  and  pervaded  with 
electricity.  To  plants  and  animals,  the  atmosphere 
is,  physically,  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  brings  min- 
istry from  higher  sources  and  from  wider  reaches 
than  the  earth.  The  atmosphere  may  injure  or  it 
may  improve  a  living  thing;  it  may  nourish  or  des- 
troy life.  Plants  are  blasted  in  a  cold  atmosphere 
and  withered  in  a  hot  one.  Plants  grow  where  tem- 
137 


138  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

perature,  moisture,  and  light  are  combined  in  proper 
proportions.  Animals  are  affected  by  the  quality 
of  the  air  they  breathe,  and  mood  and  temper  are 
frequently  the  resultant  effects  of  air  upon  a  sensi- 
tive organization.  Men  are  wont  to  speak  of  air 
as  heavy,  depressing,  debilitating,  and  so  injurious  to 
life,  or  as  pure,  exhilarating,  and  invigorating,  and 
so  favorable  to  life. 

The  social  atmosphere  of  a  home  is  the  most  im- 
portant factor  in  the  life  of  a  child.  In  an  atmos- 
phere of  suspicion,  distrust,  anger,  injustice,  and 
cruelty,  it  is  impossible  for  a  child  to  grow  in  faith, 
sweetness,  gentleness,  and  kindness.  A  child  re- 
produces the  temper,  speech,  and  actions  of  the 
grown  persons  about  him.  Common  observation  of 
the  speech  and  conduct  of  children,  confirms  this 
statement.  Even  in  play,  children  will  use  the 
tone  and  language  of  their  elders.  There  is,  of 
course,  a  certain  native  and  individual  quality  of 
character  independent  of  environment;  but  this  is 
modified  in  increased  goodness  or  in  intensified  bad- 
ness by  the  atmosphere  in  which  a  child  lives.  A 
little  girl  is  a  moral  blossom  in  the  likeness  of  her 
mother,  and  a  small  boy  tries  to  reproduce  the 
speech  and  conduct  of  his  father. 

The  moral  and  spiritual  quality  of  a  community 
as  shown  in  the  speech,  conduct,  business  manners, 
amusements,  and  worship  influence  the  mind  and 
habits  of  a  growing  child. 

In  so  far  as  personal  choice  may  decide  the  atmos- 
phere which  one  will  breathe,  in  so  far,  there  is 
individual     responsibility.       One    may    allow    the 


Love  as  an  Atmosphere  139 

milder  or  the  more  severe  spirit  of  a  home  to  dwell 
in  mind ;  one  may  choose  the  companions  who 
awaken  the  baser,  or  the  companions  who  awaken 
the  more  refined  feelings;  one  may  cultivate  the 
desires  and  the  actions  of  the  worse  or  of  the  bet- 
ter spirits  about  him. 

Personal  choice  performs  an  important  part  in  the 
formation  of  character.  But  in  so  far  as  choice  has 
no  place,  as  with  the  very  young  who  are  confined 
to  a  limited  and  circumstantial  atmosphere,  environ- 
ment is  the  chief  factor  in  determining  quality  and 
direction  of  life.  The  experience  and  observation 
of  societies  who  take  charge  of  neglected  and  aban- 
doned children,  and  who  place  them  in  homes,  con- 
firms this  statement. 

The  religious  atmosphere  in  which  a  soul  lives  is 
of  prime  importance.  Man  is  a  religious  being.  He 
has  in  himself  a  sense  of  divinity.  He 
believes  in  the  supernatural.  He  is  moved  by  faith  in 
or  by  fear  of  spiritual  beings.  He  will  be,  or  he 
will  become,  like  the  god  he  worships.  Men  whose 
heaven  is  peopled  with  gods  such  as  Pope's  couplet 
describes : 

"Gods   partial,   passionate,   unjust, 
Whose  attributes  are  rage,  revenge,  and  lust," 

will  indulge  themselves  in  like  passions.  Fear  has 
played  a  great  part  in  the  religions  of  the  world. 
Fear  which  is  reverent,  which  is  filled  with  respect, 
and  which  dreads  to  ofifend,  is  beneficial.  Fear 
which  is  simply  apprehension  of  danger  and  injury, 


I40  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

is  hurtful.  Men  too  frequently  have  conceived  of 
gods  after  their  own  image  and  have  regarded  them 
as  essentially  selfish,  self-seeking,  and  self-indulgent. 
They  have  worshipped  them  as  beings  whose  anger 
may  be  placated  by  sacrificial  offerings  and  whose 
favor  may  be  purchased  by  costly  gifts.  Men, 
through  their  vain  imagination,  have  lived  in  an 
atmosphere  spiritually  unhealthful  and  morally 
baneful. 

But  Jesus  has  revealed  God  to  men.  The  reve- 
lation in  Jesus  did  not  create  the  divine  character 
or  change  that  character,  but  made  it  manifest. 
Jesus  has  made  men  acquainted  with  the 
spiritual  atmosphere  in  which  they  live. 
Jesus'  character  is  holy  and  loving.  Jesus'  dispo- 
sition towards  men  is  unselfish  and  benevolent. 
Jesus'  ministry  to  men  is  beneficent,  giving  health 
and  holiness.  He  that  hath  seen  Jesus,  hath  seen 
the  Father.  The  revelation  of  Jesus  is  threefold: 
God  is  a  spirit;  God  is  light;  God  is  love.  God 
is  a  spirit  in  essence;  God  is  light  in  action;  God 
is  love  in  relation  to  men.  Men  by  faith  dwell  in 
God ;  God  by  love  dwells  in  men.  Men  by  faith, 
open  mind  and  soul  to  God ;  God  by  love  enters 
and  enlarges  the  souls  of  men.  "He  that  dwelleth 
in  love  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him." 

That  which  is  wisest  and  best  in  men  is  used  by 
Jesus  to  interpret  to  men  what  is  wise  and  good  in 
God.  The  farmer  who  sows  good  seed  in  his  field, 
the  shepherd  who  seeks  a  lost  sheep,  the  father 
who  forgives  a  repentant  prodigal  son,  the  father 
who  hears  and  answers  the  prayer  of  his  child,  the 


Love  as  an  Atmosphere  141 

householder  who  amply  rewards  a  faithful  steward, 
are  all  used  to  exhibit  and  illustrate  qualities  which 
belong  to  the  divine  nature  and  which  spring  from 
the  one  source — love. 

God's  love  is  not  unintelligent,  unregulated,  and 
misdirected  sentiment.  God's  love  is  clear  in  vision, 
wise  in  choice,  intelligent  in  action,  moving  outward 
in  ministry  and  in  control  which  will  secure  good. 

The  spiritual  atmosphere  in  which  the  world  of 
men  lies  is  love.  This  love  has  in  it  all  the  elements 
of  mercy,  long-suffering,  forgiveness,  and  grace 
which  meet  the  various  needs  of  men.  The  prin- 
ciples and  practices  of  the  divine  government  are 
to  be  interpreted  by  love.  They  are  essentially 
benevolent;  they  are  for  good  purposes;  they  are 
for  the  welfare  of  the  creature.  The  glory  of  the 
Creator  is  not  secured  by  any  injustice  to  the  crea- 
ture. The  good  of  the  creature  is  not  obtained  by 
any  dishonor  to  the  Creator.  The  principles  of  the 
divine  administration  run  along  the  lines  of  right- 
eousness. 

Evil,  obviously,  is  incidental  to  creatures  begin- 
ning life  in  infancy  to  be  educated  in  spirituality 
and  pain  is  part  of  the  discipline  of  human  life.  But 
evil  is  not  pleasurable  to  God,  and  pain  is  not  the 
permanent  inheritance  of  man.  That  punishment  of 
sin  which  warns  and  restrains  the  sinner  for  his  own 
welfare  is  benevolent;  and  that  punishment  of  sin 
which,  like  surgery,  removes  the  incorrigible  sinner 
from  a  society  which  would  be  injured  by  his  pres- 
ence is  likewise  good.  Divine  love  is  not  soft-hearted 
kindness  destitute  of  moral  principle,  but  wise,  intel- 


142  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ligent,  firm,  and  well-directed  benevolence  which 
maintains  the  authority  of  right  and  of  law,  and 
which  sends  suffering  for  the  good  which  will  ensue. 

Permission  given  to  a  child  to  choose  his  own 
way  without  control  would  not  be  wisdom  but  folly. 
Granting  a  child  limitless  liberty,  would  not  be  the 
act  of  intelligence,  but  of  ignorance.  Granting  a 
child  every  request  would  not  be  kindness  but 
cruelty.  Withholding  pain  when  pain  would  cor- 
rect or  chasten  or  call  out  heroic  qualities,  would 
not  be  a  favor  but  a  futility.  Diverting  sorrow 
when  sorrow  would  sanctify,  would  not  be  a  blessing 
but  a  bane. 

It  is  not  possible  to  set  every  separate  state  of  a 
man  or  every  kind  of  pain  or  every  time  of  sorrow  in 
such  a  light  that  one  may  see  all  its  relations  and 
interpret  its  meaning  and  show  the  good  which  must 
follow,  but  it  is  quite  possible  to  see  the  general 
course  of  goodness  in  the  world's  guidance  and 
governance.  There  is,  obviously,  a  benevolent  pur- 
pose in  pain ;  suffering  evokes  strength  of  soul ;  sor- 
row may  soften,  chasten,  and  serve  to  complete  a 
character.  This  world  without  pain  and  without 
sorrow  would  be  to  a  very  great  degree,  without  the 
patience  and  the  heroism,  and  without  the  sym- 
pathy and  the  gentleness  which  now,  are  found  in 
it.  There  is  also  in  the  heart  of  mankind  an  abiding 
hope  of  better  things  yet  to  be. 

The  physical  atmosphere  has  its  clouds  and  show- 
ers, its  currents  and  its  storms,  its  electric  displays 
and  destructions;  but  these  all  perform  a  beneficent 
part  in  the  promotion  of  health  and  welfare.     In- 


Love  as  an  Atmosphere  143 

dividual  instances  of  injury  and  loss  occur;  but 
these  are  incidental  and,  relatively,  minor;  they 
are  neither  the  common  nor  the  permanent  things. 
They  are  but  temporal.  The  gain  far  outbalances 
the  loss. 

In  the  spiritual  sphere,  there  are  times  of  darkness 
and  trial,  of  suffering  and  sorrow,  of  pain  and  loss; 
but  to  him  who  believes  in  the  love  of  God,  and 
abides  in  that  love,  they  conserve  spiritual  welfare. 
This  an  apostle  saw  when  he  burst  out  in  a  glad 
exclamation:  "We  glory  in  tribulations  also  know- 
ing that  tribulation  worketh  patience,  and  patience, 
experience,  and  experience,  hope."  He  teaches  the 
same  truth  when  he  writes,  "Our  affliction  which  is 
for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding 
weight  of  glory."  There  are  some  things  in  human 
experience,  now,  which  are  seen  only  as  painful  and 
full  of  sorrow;  but,  says  Saint  Paul,  "These  are 
temporal,"  and  there  are  other  things  which  follow 
that  are  full  of  pleasure  and  of  glory  and  these  "are 
eternal." 

To  him  who  knows  God  as  revealed  in  character 
in  the  person  of  Jesus,  and  who  knows  the  purpose 
and  principles  of  the  divine  government  as  declared 
in  the  gospel,  there  must  be  this  interpretation  of 
human  life.  He  who  dwells  in  the  love  of  God  will 
have  a  strength,  a  comfort,  and  a  glorious  hope  in 
the  midst  of  all  life's  experiences  which  can  belong 
to  none  other.  "Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of 
God." 

God  loved  when  he  made  the  world,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  world  must  be  accepted  as  an  expres- 


144  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

sion  of  his  love.  We  should  not  expect  the  physi- 
cal conditions  of  the  world  to  be  changed  because  of 
the  revelation  of  divine  grace  and  our  acceptance  of 
it,  nor  the  laws  of  nature  to  be  annulled  because  of 
our  prayers.  In  so  far  as  we  personally  have  neg- 
lected the  laws  of  the  universe  and  have  lived  in 
violation  of  those  laws,  we  should  expect  change; 
but  the  change  must  be  in  us  and  not  in  the  laws  of 
nature  or  in  nature's  course.  Labor,  for  instance, 
must  be  accepted  as  a  primary  law  of  life.  He  who 
lives  in  the  love  of  God  will  perform  his  labor  not 
in  the  spirit  of  servitude,  but  in  the  spirit  of  sonship 
and  will  make  it  a  ministry. 

The  normal  relations  of  human  life  which  are 
formed  by  men's  appetites  and  affections  have  been 
ordained  in  love.  These  relations  are  not  to  be 
avoided  but  accepted.  They  give  much  satisfaction 
and  joy;  they  bring  also  much  care  and  sorrow.  But 
it  is,  mainly,  through  the  common  relations  and 
common  duties  of  life  that  the  finest  elements  of 
character  are  developed.  Men  by  obedience  in  spirit 
to  the  constitution  of  society,  are  enlarged  in  affec- 
tion and  in  sympathy,  and  are  fitted  to  be  part  of  an 
enduring  social  order.  He  who  believes  in  the  love 
of  God,  and  who  sees  that  love  expressed  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  world  and  in  the  structure  of  soci- 
ety, cannot  think  that  labor  is  a  penalty  for  sin  or 
that  celibacy  is  superior  to  marriage,  or  that  medita- 
tion is  better  than  action.  The  mode  of  life  which 
must  be  led  by  the  many  must  be  good  rather  than  a 
manner  of  life  which  may  be  led  by  a  few. 

A  superficial  survey  of  the  history  of  mankind 


Love  as  an  Atmosphere  145 

will  show  that  by  toil  man  is  trained  in  self-re- 
straint, self-control,  power  of  concentration,  and 
power  of  application,  and  that  by  toil,  man  gains 
both  knowledge  and  skill.  What  most  men  have 
learned  has  come  through  the  necessity  of  a  struggle 
for  existence,  and  the  moral  qualities  of  mankind 
have  been  evoked  and  made  strong  through  adapta- 
tion to  one  another  in  the  relations  and  mutual  du- 
ties of  life. 

Man  is  said  to  be  nature's  favorite.  Yet,  as 
one  has  said :  "How  does  nature  deal  with  her  fa- 
vorite? She  turns  him  out  naked,  cold,  and  shiv- 
ering upon  the  earth ;  with  needs  that  admit  of  no 
compromise;  with  a  delicate  frame  that  cannot  lie 
upon  the  bare  ground  an  hour,  but  must  have  im- 
mediate protection;  with  a  hunger  that  cannot  pro- 
crastinate the  needed  supply,  but  must  be  fed  to-day 
and  every  day;  and  why  is  all  this?  I  suppose,  if 
man  could  have  made  of  earth  a  bed ;  and  if  an  ap- 
ple or  a  chestnut  a  day  could  have  sufficed  him  for 
food ;  he  would  have  got  his  barrel  of  apples  or  his 
bushel  of  chestnuts,  and  lain  down  upon  the  earth 
and  done  nothing  until  the  stock  was  gone.  But  na- 
ture will  not  permit  this." 

Nature,  which  for  animals  provides  food  which 
needs  no  cooking  and  which  weaves  garments  for 
them  by  the  action  of  their  own  bodies,  clothing 
them  in  feathers  or  in  fur,  as  climate  and  condi- 
tions demand,  and  which  makes  them  capable  of 
living  without  a  house,  or  provides  a  house  for  them, 
compels  man  to  raise  his  own  food,  to  weave  his 
own  garments,  and  to  build  his  own  house.     But 


146  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

with  what  result?  This,  namely,  that  while  ani- 
mals remain  the  same  through  the  generations,  men 
sowing,  spinning,  weaving,  trading,  building  house 
and  home,  become  farmers,  artizans,  architects,  ar- 
tists, sculptors,  painters,  musicians,  scientists,  philos- 
ophers, poets,  and,  by  inspiration,  prophets.  So  it 
comes  to  pass  that  not  only  through  the  gentleness 
but  through  what  seems  the  severity  of  God,  men 
become  great.  Now  he  who  sees  this  result  in  the 
course  of  nature  and  in  the  history  of  mankind,  will 
accept  his  place  in  the  world,  will  use  his  power, 
will  perform  his  work  and  will  do  this  with  that 
cheerfulness  and  strength  and  hopefulness  which 
come  from  the  belief  that  his  life  is  under  the 
rule  of  love. 

The  fact  of  moral  evil  also  must  be  set  in  the 
light  of  love  if  we  are  to  understand  it  aright.  Why 
should  a  man  be  tempted  to  do  wrong?  Tempta- 
tion is  not  a  trap  to  catch  a  man  and  destroy  him, 
but  temptation  is  a  trial  and  a  test.  It  is  an  oppor- 
tunity to  fall,  but  it  is  also  an  opportunity  to  rise. 
He  who  when  tempted  refuses  evil,  rises  as  a  bird 
rises  by  beating  the  air  with  resisting  wings.  He 
who  is  tempted,  but  without  sin,  proves  thereby 
the  power  of  his  manhood.  But  do  not  many  fall, 
rather  than  rise  under  temptation?  Yes.  But 
within  the  soul  of  man,  as  nowhere  else  in  the 
animal  world,  there  is  a  nature  which  feels  remorse, 
which  regrets  and  repents  and  makes  possible  the 
sundering  of  the  soul  from  evil,  and  the  renewal 
of  relation  with  the  forces  which  make  for  righteous- 
ness. 


Love  as  an  Atmosphere  147 

Suffering  also,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  word, 
that  is,  in  the  mere  enduring  of  pains  which  are 
incidental  to  the  human  frame  and  to  a  man's  rela- 
tions to  the  world  and  to  other  persons,  is  a  means 
of  heroism.  That  suffering  which  is  endured  on 
account  of  one's  own  sins  or  on  account  of  the 
sins  of  others  has  in  it  the  most  powerful  forces  to 
expand  the  soul  in  love.  Of  the  greatest  character 
which  has  appeared  on  earth  it  is  written,  "He 
learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suffered; 
and  having  been  made  perfect.  He  became  unto  all 
them  that  obey  Him  the  author  of  eternal  sal- 
vation." 

This  eternal  salvation  comes  to  him  who  believes 
and  knows  the  love  that  God  hath  for  us.  Nature 
lies  about  man  waiting  to  minister  to  him  with  in- 
spiring breeze  and  warming  sun  and  renewing 
forces.  He  who  will  receive  the  ministration  of  na- 
ture, finds  that  his  fainting  body  is  revived,  his 
waning  strength  renewed,  and  power  is  given  him 
to  finish  his  journey  or  to  complete  his  task.  God, 
also,  in  like  manner,  is  a  living,  present,  all-embrac- 
ing spirit  waiting  to  revive,  renew,  and  make  strong 
the  soul  of  man.  This  is  no  mere  Oriental 
dream,  no  mystic  imagination,  no  illusive  hope. 
This  is  a  fact  which  is  abundantly  attested  by  the 
most  reliable  men.  It  is  a  matter  of  experience. 
Shepherds,  soldiers,  political  leaders,  statesmen,  and 
men  also  in  the  very  ordinary  walks  of  common 
life  have  affirmed  that  they  have  waited  upon 
God  and  have  been  helped,  have  called  upon 
God     and     been     answered,     have     trusted     God 


148  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  their  strength  has  been  renewed  and 
made  sufficient.  The  sacred  scriptures,  the  bi- 
ographies of  eminent  men,  and  the  hymns  of  the 
entire  church  expressive  of  common  experiences,  all 
bear  witness  to  this  truth.  Humble  persons  have 
asserted  in  the  ears  of  those  who  have  tried  to  com- 
fort them  that  the  grace  of  God  has  come  to  them 
in  their  need  like  water  of  life  and  like  comfort  of 
a  mother's  love.  God  indeed  revives  the  heart  of 
the  contrite,  dwells  with  them  who  are  of  humble 
heart,  and  renews  the  strength  of  such  as  wait  on 
Him. 

The  man  who  will  search  his  own  interior  nature 
must  know  that  faith,  love,  and  hope,  in  some  form, 
are  the  mightiest  forces  to  keep  his  soul  sane  and 
pure  and  strong.  He  who  will  try  must  know  that 
the  love  of  God  beyond  anything  else  feeds  these 
forces.  He  who  dwells  in  the  love  of  God,  knows 
that  he  is  guided  in  his  counsels,  strengthened  in  his 
purposes,  comforted  in  his  sorrows,  sustained  in  his 
trials,  and  heartened  at  all  times  by  the  love  of  God. 
This  persuasion  and  belief  is  conducive  to  moral 
power,  mental  sanity,  and  physical  health.  Salva- 
tion physical,  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual,  comes 
from  dwelling  in  the  love  of  God.  That  love  is  the 
only  atmosphere  in  which  the  soul  can  live  and  live 
eternally. 

Success  in  life  is  considered  by  many  to  depend  on 
place  and  position,  on  the  abundance  of  things  with 
which  a  man  surrounds  himself,  on  escape  from 
trouble  and  pain,  and  on  the  element  of  ease  in  liv- 
ing.    But  there  have  been  men  humbled  in  position 


Love  as  an  Atmosphere  149 

who  have  been  greatly  exalted  in  themselves.  There 
have  been  men  who  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things  who  have  made  others  rich.  There  have  been 
men  bereft  who  blessed  God  in  their  bereavement 
and  who  greatly  comforted  others.  There  have  been 
men  who  have  passed  long  years  in  pain  for  truth's 
sake  or  for  love's  sake  who  have  inspired  souls  with 
heroism.  The  fact  that  God  loved  them  was  to 
such  men  exaltation,  enrichment,  companionship, 
strength,  and  joy.  The  really  successful  life  is  the 
life  in  which  one  learns  the  lessons  which  make  him 
pure,  loving,  constant,  strong,  patient,  superior  to 
external  conditions,  and  invincible  in  soul. 

To  the  servant,  like  Hagar,  and  to  the  public 
man  and  prophet  like  Elijah,  in  the  desert  places  of 
life,  there  may  be  met  the  angel  of  ministry  and 
there  may  be  received  the  water  and  the  bread  of 
life.  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come.  **Whoso- 
ever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

Life — life  renewed  daily — life  strong  to  serve — 
life  brave  to  suffer — life  full  of  sympathy — life 
abundant  in  ministry — life  which  will  never  fail — 
may  be  unto  all  who  will  believe  and  dwell  in  the 
love  of  God. 

There  has  been  transacted  on  this  earth  a  marvel- 
ous ministry  of  grace,  healing,  and  salvation.  There 
has  been  on  this  earth  a  wonderful  history  full  of 
the  experiences  of  those  who  have  found  God  all- 
sufficient  in  the  depth,  tenderness,  and  strength  of 
his  love.  This  ministry  has  been  given  in  part  for 
our  enlightenment,  and  this  history  has  been  written 
for  our  learning  that  we  through  like  faith  might 


I50  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

know  and  enjoy  the  love  of  God.  It  is  as  Browning 
wrote  of  Lazarus  and  the  Arab  physician  who  saw 
and  conversed  with  him: 

"Whence  has  the  man  the  balm  that  brightens  all? 

Indeed  the  especial  marking  of  the  man 

Is  prone  submission  to  the  heavenly  will — 

Seeing  it,  what  it  is,  and  why  it  is." 

So  the  Arab  physician  writes  to  his  friend : 

"The  very   God!     think,  Abib;    dost   thou   think? 
So,  the  All-Great  were  the  All-Loving  too — 
So,  through  the  thunder  comes  a  human  voice 
Saying,  'O  heart  I  made,  a  heart  beats  here, 
Face,  my  hands  fashioned,  see  it  in  myself! 
Thou  hast  no  power  nor  mayest  conceive  of  mine. 
But  love  I  gave  thee,  with  myself  to  love 
And  thou  must  love  me  who  have  died  for  thee!' 
The  madman  saith  He  said  so:    it  is  strange.'' 


CHAPTER  IX 
Faith 

T  N  THE  north  of  Scotland  spanning  a  small 
-*■  stream,  is  a  stone  foot  bridge  on  the  keystone  of 
whose  arch  is  an  inscription,  "God  and  Me."  The 
stream  itself  is  small  in  summer,  but  when  swollen 
by  spring  freshets,  it  becomes  a  raging  torrent. 
Many  years  ago,  when  the  stream  was  crossed  by 
a  footlog,  a  young  girl  lost  her  footing  and  fell  into 
the  swollen  waters.  She  felt  herself  being  swept 
down  the  current  and  she  prayed  to  God  to  help 
her  reach  the  shore.  In  answer  to  her  prayer,  so 
she  believed,  help  came  and  she  buffetted  the  oppos- 
ing waters  until  she  was  safely  landed.  In  return 
for  her  deliverance,  she  promised  that  when  she 
should  be  able,  she  would  build  a  bridge  across  that 
stream.  After  .many  years  of  labor,  she  was  able 
to  redeem  her  promise  and  she  built  the  bridge  and 
placed  upon  it  the  above  inscription. 

Had  a  vine  held  fast  by  its  roots  been  floating 
in  the  water  when  that  girl  fell  and  had  her  hand 
grasped  it,  she  would  have  been  saved  by  faith  in  a 
physical  means  of  deliverance.  Her  faith,  a  mater- 
alist  would  say,  was  well  placed  and  justified.  But 
was  not  her  faith  equally  well  placed  and  justified 
by  its  trust  in  a  spiritual  source  of  salvation?  True, 
no  audible  voice  from  the  sky  responded  to  her  cry 
and  no  hand  from  heaven  was  extended  to  help  her 
escape  from  the  waters.  But  in  answer  to  her  faith, 
151 


152  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

her  soul  was  strengthened  with  confidence,  and  she 
was  nerved  for  her  struggle  and  saved  from  a  watery 
grave.  The  soul  is  as  real  as  the  body,  and  strength 
of  soul  is  as  much  a  support  as  strength  of  body. 
This  girl  saved  through  prayer  might  have  written 
her  experience  in  words  of  the  psalmist:  "He  sent 
from  above,  he  took  me,  he  drew  me  out  of  many 
waters."  So  she  felt,  and  the  bridge  is  the  material 
monument  to  her  belief. 

In  the  matter  of  faith,  this  Scotch  girl  was  not 
exceptional.  In  the  purpose  of  her  faith,  her  exper- 
ience was  her  own,  but  in  the  nature  of  her  faith 
and  in  its  object,  it  was  a  common  faith.  In  a  recent 
book  upon  the  work  of  some  American  women  who 
have  rendered  most  signal  and  valuable  civic  and 
social  service,  the  author  says,  in  the  preface:  "In 
almost  every  instance,  they  who  have  done  so  much 
for  the  public  welfare  have  stated  that  they  believe 
themselves  to  have  been  selected  by  a  divine  agency 
for  their  particular  work  and  accountable  to  the  Di- 
vinity for  success  or  failure.  The  sense  of  a  power 
beyond  themselves,  impelling  them  onward,  was  gen- 
eral. So  was  a  great  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer." 
The  author  who  claims  that  she  herself  is  "not  a 
sentimental  person"  says,  "The  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity with  which  this  belief  has  been  shown  have 
made  it  impossible  to  doubt." 

This  testimony  seems  much  like  that  of  Saint 
Paul  who  says  of  his  own  works  and  remarkable 
life,  "By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am:  and 
his  grace  which  was  bestowed  upon  me  was  not  in 
vain;  but  I  labored  more  abundantly  than  they  all: 


Faith  153 

yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  which  was  with  me." 
That  faith  brings  power  to  withstand  evil  in  a 
wicked  world,  to  work  righteousness  in  the  midst  of 
sin,  and  to  meet  and  often  to  overcome  physical 
difficulty  and  danger,  is  a  common  experience  of 
those  who  lead  the  most  saintly  and  the  most  service- 
able lives. 

Faith  not  only  frequently  gives  deliverance  from 
danger  and  strength  for  service,  but  also  patience 
of  endurance  and  hope  of  future  good.  In  fact, 
faith,  gives  hope  when  without  it  one  might  sink  in 
despair.  Among  the  men  imprisoned  by  Napoleon 
I,  was  a  man  named  Charney.  This  man  wrote 
his  brief  creed  on  the  wall  of  his  cell  in  the  words, 
"All  things  come  by  chance."  It  was  a  comfortless 
creed.  It  gave  no  light  to  his  mind  and  no  cheer  to 
his  soul.  One  day  as  Charney  was  walking  up  and 
down  the  pavement,  he  saw  a  tiny  blade  lifting  a 
green  tip  from  between  the  flagging.  He  was  inter- 
ested in  it,  as  the  only  living  thing  around.  He 
cared  for  it,  watered  it,  and  watched  it  grow.  In 
return  for  his  love  and  care,  the  plant  became  his 
teacher.  It  blossomed,  finally,  in  a  beautiful  flower, 
rose-colored  with  white  fringe.  The  man  began 
to  think  that  such  a  life  and  such  beauty  could  not 
come  by  chance  and  could  not  flourish  without  lov- 
ing care.  It  occurred  to  his  mind  that  higher  life 
in  this  world  cannot  be  the  result  of  chance  and  can- 
not come  to  its  best  without  love  and  care.  He 
rubbed  out  the  creed  he  had  written  upon  the  wall 
and  wrote  instead,  "He  who  made  all  things  is 
God."    Light  came  to  cheer  his  mind  and  a  sense  of 


154  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

love  to  comfort  his  heart  as  he  thought  that  if  God 
could  care  for  so  tiny  a  flower  in  a  prison  and  make 
it  beautiful,  God  could  care  for  him.  Incidentally, 
Charney's  love  for  the  flower  coming  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  a  little  girl  whose  father  was  also  a  pris- 
oner, was  reported  by  her  and,  at  length,  reached  the 
ears  of  the  empress  and  resulted  in  Charney's 
liberation.  But  in  the  prison  he  had  learned  enough 
to  believe  the  words  of  Jesus,  "Consider  the  lilies 
how  they  grow."  He  had  learned  enough  to  believe 
that  if  God  cares  for  the  flowers  of  the  field  much 
more  will  He  care  for  a  living  man  who  trusts  Him. 
Faith  is  given  the  first  place  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  being  the  most  essential  thing  in  man.  Love 
may  be  the  greatest  thing  in  human  character,  but 
faith  is  the  most  essential.  Every  normal  child 
begins  conscious  life  in  faith.  The  child  does  not 
know  love,  but  the  child  intuitively  trusts  love.  It 
is  out  of  this  trust  that  love  grows  in  the  heart  of 
a  child.  So  is  faith  in  God  first  in  the  heart  of  a 
true  man  and  out  of  his  faith,  love  grows.  "Faith 
works  by  love."  Notice  the  place  given  to  faith  in 
the  New  Testament.  Faith  is  said  to  be  the  condi- 
tion of  acceptance  with  God.  "Without  faith  it  is 
impossible  to  please  Him."  Faith  is  declared  to  be 
the  condition  of  salvation,  "He  that  believeth  shall 
be  saved."  Faith  is  distinctly  said  to  be  the  active 
principle  of  a  saintly  and  heroic  life.  They  who  do 
great  things  in  the  service  of  God,  do  them  by  faith. 
"Through  faith  they  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought 
righteousness,  and  obtained  promises."  Faith  is  said 
to  be  the  means  of  victory  and  of  reward.     "This 


Faith  155 

is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith."  Jesus  says  of  such  victors:  "He  that  over- 
cometh, the  same  shall  be  clothed  in  white  rain- 
ment;  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the 
book  of  life,  but  I  will  confess  his  name  before  my 
Father  and  before  His  angels."  The  lack  of  faith  is 
the  cause  of  failure.  Jesus  turned  away  from  His 
own  immediate  country  and  "He  did  not  many 
mighty  works  there  because  of  their  unbelief." 
When  the  disciples  asked  Jesus  the  secret  of  their 
lack  of  power  He  said :  "Because  of  your  unbelief." 
The  blessings  of  healing,  pardon,  and  power  of  new 
life  came  as  a  result  of  faith.  Faith,  let  it  be  un- 
derstood, is  not  primarily  or  chiefly  a  mental  con- 
cept or  an  intellectual  assent  to  statements  of  truth, 
valuable  as  this  may  be;  but  faith  is  an  attitude  of 
mind,  a  state  of  soul,  a  personal  relation  to  a  per- 
sonal presence  and  power.  The  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion states  this  conception  of  faith  in  fitting  words 
by  saying,  "This  word  faith  is  taken  in  Scriptures, 
not  for  such  a  knowledge  as  is  in  the  wicked,  but 
for  a  trust,  which  doth  comfort  and  lift  up  dis- 
quieted minds."  Faith  is  trust  in  a  Person,  a  living 
Presence,  a  ruling  Power,  an  inspiring  Spirit. 
"God,"  says  Jesus,  "is  a  spirit  and  they  that  worship 
Him,  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
They  who  thus  worship  God  revere  Him,  receive 
Him,  and  obey  Him.  These  statements  are  not  de- 
signed to  discredit  or  to  undervalue  intellectual 
knowledge  of  truth,  which  may  be  most  valuable; 
but  to  call  attention  to  the  fact,  that  intellectual 
acceptance    of    statements   of    truth    may   be    made 


156  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

where  there  is  no  obedience  to  the  truth,  and  that 
there  may  be  the  spirit  of  obedience  where  there  is 
little  knowledge.  These  statements  are  also  intended 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  faith  according  to 
the  New  Testament  is  a  personal  relation  to  a 
personal  God.  Faith  is  the  response  of  the  soul  in 
its  sensibilities  and  in  its  desires  to  the  circumambi- 
ant  Spirit  of  Life. 

Scientists  now  believe  in  a  substance,  like  a  lim- 
itless ocean  or  vapor,  like  a  universal  atmosphere  of 
an  ethereal  nature,  something  invisible,  imponder- 
able, intactible  sensibly,  in  which  all  worlds  lie, 
through  which  attraction  passes,  through  which  light 
flashes,  and  in  which  all  forces  which  pass  from 
world  to  world  find  their  medium.  In  this  name- 
less and  unseen  somewhat,  all  things  exist.  Scien- 
tists believe  this  not  because  of  proof  which  may  be 
demonstrated  like  a  problem  in  mathematics;  but 
because  such  a  viewless  and  imponderable  substance 
gives  a  satisfactory  physical  basis  for  certain  phe- 
nomena in  nature.  So  it  has  come  to  pass  that  sci- 
entists accept  belief  in  a  physical  environment  simi- 
lar to  the  spiritual  environment  in  which  many  men 
have  believed,  as  affording  a  sufficient  basis  for  the 
spiritual  phenomena  which  exist  in  the  world.  God 
is  a  spirit  by  whose  power  all  souls  come  to  be,  in 
whose  love  all  souls  lie,  and  by  whose  life  all  souls 
which  attain  complete  life,  find  it.  God,  who  is 
invisible  and  intangible  to  the  physical  senses  of 
men  but  most  real  to  the  spiritual  sense,  is  the  one 
living  reality  and  the  one  source  of  life  to  men. 

Jesus  reveals  to  men  not  the  metaphysical  nature 


Faith  157 

of  God  but  His  moral  qualities  and  His  moral  at- 
titude toward  men.  Jesus  declares  that  God  is  lov- 
ing, merciful,  gracious,  sympathetic,  and  serviceable, 
ever  ready  to  save  and  to  serve  men,  ready  to  make 
them  strong  to  overcome  sin  and  death,  and  ready 
to  make  them  perfect  in  character  such  as  is  worthy 
to  endure. 

Every  man  dwells  in  God  in  so  far  as  his  existence 
is  concerned,  but  the  believing  and  loving  man 
dwells  in  God  intimately  in  that  he  is  open  to  the 
influx  of  divine  power  which  acts  within  the  man, 
inspiring  love  and  holiness.  The  dying  plant,  and 
the  growing  plant  both  are  in  the  air,  but  their  rela- 
tion to  the  air  differs.  To  the  one,  the  air  is  mainly 
external  and  will  become  wholly  so  when  it  is  en- 
tirely dead;  to  the  other,  the  air  is  both  external 
and  internal  in  that  it  is  nourishing  the  plant  that 
grows.  All  men  are  in  the  air,  but  the  air  is  also 
in  living  men  as  the  support  of  life.  All  men  are 
in  God  as  the  all-embracing  spirit,  but  God  is  in  the 
soul  of  the  man  who  has  faith. 

Faith  is  a  state  of  soul,  an  attitude  of  mind,  a 
relation  to  the  omnipresent  spirit  whom  we  call 
God.  Faith  is  the  open  eye  which  light  may  enter; 
the  uncovered  ear  to  which  the  voice  of  the  Spirit 
may  speak;  the  waiting  heart  which  love  may  fill; 
the  trustful  soul  which  the  tides  of  spiritual  force 
may  swell;  the  obedient  will  which  inspiring  grace 
may  make  strong.  Faith,  whether  in  reception  or 
in  action,  is  the  response  of  the  soul  to  God. 

Faith  is  the  condition  of  receiving  spiritual  pow- 
er.    It  was  power  which  Jesus  promised  to  his  dis- 


158  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ciples  when  the  Spirit  should  come  upon  them.  It 
was  power  which  marked  the  change  in  those  dis- 
ciples when  the  Spirit  came.  They  had  power  to 
know  and  to  interpret  the  revelation  and  the  will  of 
God.  They  had  power  to  see  clearly,  to  think 
truly,  to  love  intensely,  to  speak  boldly,  to  endure 
bravely  and  to  continue  steadfastly  in  Christlike 
service.  This  has  been  the  quality  and  the  result  of 
faith  in  all  ages.  Increased  power,  intensified  from 
some  moral  source,  is  the  explanation  of  extraordin- 
ary men  of  biblical  history.  The  Spirit  came  upon 
strong  men  like  Samson,  and  they  became  stronger ; 
upon  skilful  men  like  Bezalel,  and  they  became  more 
skilful ;  upon  men  fitted  for  political  leadership  like 
Moses,  and  they  became  more  capable;  upon  men 
of  poetical  and  musical  gifts  like  David,  and  they 
became  more  poetical  and  more  musical;  upon  men 
of  spiritual  vision  like  Isaiah,  and  they  saw  spiritual 
truth  more  clearly  and  expressed  it  more  beauti- 
fully; upon  willing  and  teachable  men  like  the 
apostles,  and  they  increased  in  boldness  and  in 
efficiency;  upon  men  of  heroic  nature  like  Paul,  and 
they  became  invincible.  The  Spirit  does  not  create 
new  faculties  in  men  of  faith,  but  it  makes  more 
effective  the  faculties  which  they  possess.  The 
prophet  has  a  clearer  vision;  the  poet,  a  loftier 
flight;  the  singer,  a  sweeter  tone;  the  man  of  ac- 
tion, a  more  resolute  will ;  and  the  obedient  servant 
of  the  Lord,  increased  effectiveness.  Evils  are  re- 
vealed, righteousness  is  declared,  judgment  is  deci- 
sive, kingdoms  of  opposition  to  truth  and  righteous- 
ness are  conquered,  and  kingdoms  of  truth  and  love 


Faith  159 


are  established  by  such  men. 

Men  of  common  parts,  by  faith,  partake  also  of 
these  same  graces  as  higher  men.  They  see  and 
appreciate  things  which  higher  men  have  said  and 
have  done  and  in  their  place  and  to  their  degree  re- 
produce the  same.  After  all,  it  is  not  the  particu- 
lar work  which  men  do  nor  its  greatness,  as  men 
measure  greatness;  but  the  spirit  in  which  men  do 
their  work  which  makes  them  great.  To  men  of 
true  faith,  labor  becomes  a  service  of  dignity,  love 
becomes  the  sweet  spirit  of  home,  and  the  common 
round  and  trivial  task  of  daily  life  are  elevated  and 
glorified  by  faith. 

They  who  learn  to  walk  in  love,  to  let  the  light 
of  Christian  character  shine  forth,  and  to  do  all 
things  to  the  glory  of  God,  are  moving  in  the  up- 
ward pathway  and  belong  to  the  spiritual  nobility 
of  the  universe,  quite  as  well  as  men  who  by  vir- 
tue of  greater  talent  or  more  conspicuous  position 
are  marked  and  praised  men. 

The  secrets  of  the  heavenly  kingdom  are  revealed 
to  the  believing  eye  and  the  successes  of  the  king- 
dom come  to  the  submissive  soul.  Things  which  are 
hidden  from  the  wise  are  revealed  to  the  trustful, 
and  power  which  is  lacking  to  the  strong  who  strive 
in  their  own  strength  is  imparted  to  the  weak  who 
obey  the  divine  will.  Let  it  be  known,  however, 
that,  "It  is  not  intellect  from  which  God  hides 
Himself,  but  selfishness  and  pride  which  may  be- 
long to  taught  and  untanght,  and  darken  the  soul 
of  sophist  or  of  clown." 

"The   differences,"   says   James   Martineau,   "by 


l6o  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

which  God  is  revealed  are  in  us,  not  in  him ;  in  our 
faculty  of  recognition,  by  no  means,  in  his  constancy 
of  action.  His  light  is  alive  in  the  very  hearts  of 
those  who  neglect  or  deny  him ;  and  in  those  who 
must  own  him  is  latent  a  thousand  times  for  once 
that  it  flashes  on  their  conscious  eye.  It  is  he  who 
comes  to  us  and  finds  us ;  his  presence  rises  of  itself, 
and  the  revelation  is  spontaneous.  Our  sole  con- 
cern is  to  accept  it,  to  revere  it,  to  follow  it,  to  live 
by  it." 

Certain  results  must  inevitably  follow  that  faith 
which  is  a  loving  relation  to  a  personal  God.  Faith 
will  deliver  from  that  anxious  care  about  the  condi- 
tions of  life  which  causes  fretting  and  which  con- 
sumes the  strength  of  the  soul  by  needless  friction. 
Take  not  anxious  thought,  says  Jesus.  The  reason 
for  this  freedom  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  heavenly 
Father  knows  the  things  that  are  really  needed.  It 
goes  without  saying  that,  like  a  true  father ;  He  will 
provide  them.  Things  imagined,  much  more  than 
things  real,  fret  the  souls  of  men.  It  is  very  sig- 
nificant that  Jesus  specified  to-morrow  rather  than 
to-day,  when  he  forbids  anxiety.  Faith  brings  free- 
dom from  fretting. 

Faith,  also,  frees  the  soul  from  that  foreboding 
which  brings  fear.  Fears  arises  either  from  a  feel- 
ing that  strength  will  not  be  equal  for  the  things 
which  must  be  borne  or  performed,  or  from  the  idea 
that  the  things  which  may  happen  are  uncontrolled, 
or  from  the  thought  that  the  effect  of  the  things 
which  may  happen  may  be  hurtful  and  inflict  abid- 
ing injury  and  loss.     Faith,  however,  faces  the  fu- 


Faith  l6l 

ture  with  the  feeling  that  life  is  of  divine  appoint- 
ment, part  of  a  divine  plan,  and  that  strength  v^ill 
be  equal  to  the  demands;  that  the  things  w^hich 
occur  are  not  uncontrolled,  but  are  set  within  limita- 
tions; that  any  thing  which  may  befall  a  believer 
cannot  render  abiding  harm;  and  that  "all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  who  love  God." 
Jesus  bids  men  not  fear  even  them  who  may  kill  the 
body.  Faith  drives  away  that  fear  which  hath  tor- 
ment. Faith  is  not  blind  to  the  fact  that  pain  and 
losses  and  sorrow  may  come,  but  these  things  are 
seen  in  true  perspective;  they  are  set  in  right  rela- 
tion to  other  things ;  they  are  not  the  great  and  en- 
during things ;  therefore  they  may  be  met  with  cour- 
age and  confidence. 

Faith  drives  away  doubt,  despondency,  and  des- 
pair. Many  persons  walk  beneath  a  murky  sky,  live 
in  a  depressing  atmosphere,  and  suffer  from  des- 
pair in  the  soul;  because  they  lack  sufficient  faith. 
To  the  mind  of  faith  there  is  always  a  beneficent 
power  ruling  for  good,  a  supreme  strength  of  right- 
eousness invincible  and  bound  to  conquer,  a  certainty 
of  good  in  the  long  run.  Faith  receives  the  light 
which  streams  through  the  cloud,  breathes  the  upper 
stratum  of  air,  and  looks  to  the  far  future  where  the 
brilliant  bow  of  promise  rests  on  cloud  and  on  land. 
Faith  keeps  the  angel  of  hope  in  the  heart  of  the  be- 
lieving man. 

Faith,  also,  fastens  itself  in  feeling,  affection,  de- 
sire, and  expectation  upon  the  things  which  are  best. 
It  is  the  intuitive  nature  of  faith  to  see  the  best  in 
nature,    in   persons,    and    in   God.      Faith   sees   the 


1 62  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

things  which  are  true,  just,  lovely,  honorable,  and 
beneficent  and  believe  that  these  are  always  good  in 
themselves  and  will  insure  good.  The  soul  full  of 
of  faith  never  fails,  though  it  be  set  in  the  midst  of 
evil.  "This  is  the  victory  which  overcomes  the 
world,  even  our  faith." 

Faith,  finally,  makes  him  who  possesses  it  like 
Jesus  Himself.  Jesus  was  serene  in  the  storm  at 
sea  which  filled  His  disciples  with  fear.  Jesus  was 
calm  in  the  midst  of  the  angry  crowd  who  thrust 
Him  out  of  Nazareth.  Jesus  was  sweet  in  spirit 
when  men  were  soured  in  spirit  in  their  contentions 
about  places  and  honors.  Jesus  was  kind  when  His 
disciples  would  have  been  cruel  in  their  treatment 
of  the  citizens  of  an  inhospitable  village.  Jesus 
was  sane  and  judged  the  issue  aright  when  His  ene- 
mies plotted  to  take  His  life  and  when  the  shadow 
of  the  cross  fell  across  His  pathway.  Jesus  bade 
His  disciples,  also,  bear  an  untroubled  heart  because 
of  faith  in  God.  "Believe  in  God,  believe  in  Me" 
was  His  prescription  for  the  cure  of  heart  trouble. 

Many  persons  fail  of  comfort  in  life,  exaggerate 
evil,  dread  to-morrow  and  walk  in  weakness,  because 
they  do  not  keep  the  soul  stayed  upon  God.  What 
such  persons  need  is  to  give  hospitality  to  the  truth 
of  God  and  they  will  find,  as  many  have  found, 
that  God  is  indeed  a  refuge,  a  fortress,  a  shield. 
They  will  find  that  God  is  strength,  salvation,  and 
a  song.  They  who  trust  Him  may  be  kept  in  per- 
fect peace.  They  who  wait  upon  Him,  renew  their 
strength.  They  walk  and  are  not  weary,  they  run 
and  are  not  faint. 


Faith  163 

But  one  will  say,  "Look  at  the  trouble  or  the  sor- 
row which  has  come  to  me!"  Yes,  but  is  it  more 
than  the  trouble  or  the  sorrow  which  has  come  to 
many  of  the  saints  of  God?  Has  not  Job,  bereft 
of  all  things,  been  taken  as  the  abiding  pattern  of 
patience?  Or  if  Job  be  regarded  as  a  creation  of  the 
imagination,  have  we  not  known  persons,  like  Job, 
bereft  of  property,  family,  and  health,  who  have  still 
blessed  God  and  waited  in  patience  for  His  deliver- 
ance? Have  not  some  of  the  greatest  letters,  like 
Paul's  epistles,  and  some  of  the  greatest  of  books, 
like  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  come  from  the 
pens  of  men  imprisoned?  Have  not  some  of  the 
greatest  of  poems  and  of  sermons  been  written  by 
men  who  were  blind,  like  Milton  and  George  Math- 
eson?  Have  not  some  of  the  most  helpful  of  hymns 
been  composed  by  men  bruised  by  suffering  and 
sweetened  by  sorrow?  Have  not  some  of  the  most 
useful  lives  which  the  world  has  seen,  been  lives 
filled  with  personal  suffering?  No  temptation  or 
trial  can  overtake  persons  who  live  to-day  but  such 
as  has  been  common  to  men.  Faith  has  surmounted 
them  all.  The  prayer  of  the  believing  soul  to  which 
passing  years  bring  losses  or  wrongs  or  pains  or 
sorrows  should  be,  "Lord  keep  me  sane,  sweet,  and 
strong." 

No  words  have  been  used  more  commonly  for 
comfort,  than  the  words  of  the  Twenty-third  Psalm. 
"The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want."  Mr. 
John  R.  Mott  has  analyzed  the  assurances  of  this 
psalm  as  follows:  I  shall  not  want  rest;  "He  makes 
me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures."    I  shall  not  want 


164  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

forgiveness;  **He  restoreth  my  soul."  I  shall  not 
want  guidance ;  "He  leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  right- 
eousness." I  shall  not  want  companionship;  "for 
Thou  art  with  me."  I  shall  not  want  comfort; 
"Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff,  they  comfort  me."  I  shall 
not  want  food ;  "Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me." 
I  shall  not  want  joy;  "Thou  anointest  my  head 
with  oil."  I  shall  not  want  any  thing  in  this  life; 
"surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the 
days  of  my  life."  I  shall  not  want  any  thing  in 
eternity;  "I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
forever." 

To  those  who  try  and  test  this  psalm  in  their  own 
life,  experience  will  give  such  assurance  of  its  truth 
that  they  may  say  in  the  language  of  another  psalm : 
"Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  His 
benefits:  who  forgiveth  all  thine  iniquities;  who 
healeth  all  thy  diseases;  who  redeemeth  thy  life 
from  destruction;  who  crowneth  thee  with  loving 
kindness  and  tender  mercies;  who  satisfieth  thy 
desire  with  good  things,  so  that  thy  youth  is  renewed 
like  the  eagle's." 

Faith  is  the  soul  of  true  greatness.  It  has  been 
well  said :  "There  are  two  types  of  human  great- 
ness— the  pagan  and  the  Christian — the  moral  and 
the  religious — the  secular  and  the  divine.  The 
former  has  its  root  and  essence  in  trying  hard ;  the 
latter,  in  trusting  gently ;  the  one  depends  on  volun- 
tary energy,  the  other  on  the  relinquishment  of  per- 
sonal will  to  cast  every  burden  upon  God.  The 
one  chooses  its  own  ends  and  elaborates  the  means; 
the  other,  possessed  by  a  God-given  end,  becomes  its 


Faith  165 

organ  and  its  implement,  and  simply  lets  it  use  from 
day  to  day,  the  entire  powers  of  the  soul.  There 
is  no  instrument  so  tremendous  in  this  world  as  a 
human  soul  thus  committed  to  what  is  diviner  than 
itself." 

The  pure  in  heart  see  God.  They  who  love, 
know  God.  They  who  obey,  live  with  God.  With 
God  there  is  ever  the  guidance  of  light,  the  sweet- 
ness and  the  joy  of  love,  the  endurance  and  the  vic- 
tory of  power. 

One  of  three  things  must  be  believed.  Either 
this  world  is  left  to  chance,  or  it  is  in  the  control  of 
fate,  or  it  is  guided  by  wisdom  and  unfailing  power. 
If  the  world  is  given  over  to  chance,  then  one  must 
be  driven  by  his  own  passions  or  by  popular  pas- 
sions which  may  be  like  the  waves  of  the  sea  and  the 
sweep  of  the  wind  without  purpose  and  without  con- 
trol. If  the  world  is  controlled  by  fate,  one  must 
surrender  himself  to  forces  of  whose  origin,  nature, 
and  purpose  he  can  know  nothing.  If  the  world  is 
governed  by  a  God  of  wisdom,  love,  and  power; 
then  one  may  trust  the  present,  and  quietly  hope 
for  the  future. 

Cromwell  once  said,  "One  never  mounts  so  high 
as  when  one  knows  not  whither  one  is  going."  The 
man  who  in  faith,  answers  the  call  of  the  spirit, 
follows  the  gleam  of  holy  light,  and  obeys  the 
inspiration  of  love,  will  find  that  he  learns  the 
truth,  walks  in  the  light,  fulfills  the  will  of  God, 
and  so  is  saved  and  safe. 

Faith  has  been  called  a  sixth  sense.  Faith  is  the 
sense  which  sets  a  man  in  right  relation  to  God  and 


1 66  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

to  the  universe.  ''What  reason  is  to  things  demon- 
strable, such  faith  is  to  the  invisible  realties  of  the 
spirit  world,"  says  an  Oriental  writer.  Reason  is 
richly  rewarded  in  knowledge  gained  by  exercising 
itself  on  things  demonstrable.  Faith  is  richly  re- 
warded in  experience  gained  by  trusting  spiritual 
verities.  Reason  is  rewarded  by  knowledge  com- 
prehended by  the  intellect.  Faith  is  rewarded  by 
personal  knowledge  experienced  in  the  soul.  "Here- 
by know  we  love." 

**What  is  faith,  but  to  believe  what  you  do  not 
see?"  said  Saint  Augustine.  This  accords  with  the 
scripture  which  says  that  "faith  is  a  conviction  of 
things  not  seen."  But  faith  is,  also,  more  than 
this.  Faith  is  to  believe  what  the  soul  sees  to  be 
beautiful,  what  the  conscience  affirms  to  be  good, 
what  the  heart  in  its  purest  impulses  is  impelled  to 
love.  Faith  is  a  power  in  the  soul  which  enables  one 
to  give  up  the  inferior  beauty,  the  lower  good,  the 
baser  reward,  for  what  one  sees  to  be  higher. 
To  believe  in  a  better  country  and  to  seek  it,  like 
Abraham;  to  give  up  the  wealth  and  the  power  of 
the  world  for  the  soul's  enrichment  and  the  soul's 
service,  like  Moses;  to  flee  from  the  pleasure  of 
sense,  when  pleasure  would  be  sin,  like  Joseph;  to 
respond  to  a  call  from  God  in  the  night  time,  like 
Samuel;  to  see  what  great  things  one  may  suffer 
for  Christ  and  to  choose  them,  like  Paul;  to  face 
impending  martyrdom  and  to  accept  it,  like  Peter; 
this  is  faith.  Faith  claims  the  promises  of  God  and 
finds  them  exceedingly  great  and  precious. 

Men  of  faith  are  not  lifted  out  of  the  common 


Faith  167 

experiences  of  life,  but  through  these  experiences, 
they  come  to  what,  to  men  without  Christ,  are 
uncommon  experiences.  Sin  is  a  common  experi- 
ence; but  forgiveness  is  a  Christian  experience. 
Temptation  is  a  common  experience ;  but  triumph 
over  it,  is  a  Christian  experience.  Suffering  is  a 
common  experience,  but  patient  waiting  in  hope  is  a 
Christian  experience.  Sorrow  is  a  common  experi- 
ence, but  comfort  is  a  Christian  experience.  Death 
is  a  common  experience,  but  persuasion  of  victory 
and  immortal  life  is  a  Christian  experience. 

Faith  does  not  change  outward  natural  condi- 
tions, but  faith  tends  to  give  health  of  body,  sanity  of 
mind,  and  strength  of  soul.  Faith  cleanses  the 
affections,  sweetens  the  disposition,  sustains  the  will, 
and  increases  the  entire  life  of  man.  If  physical 
well-being,  mental  clarity  and  strength,  spiritual 
efficiency  and  the  achievement  of  good,  be  con- 
sidered success  in  life;  then,  the  man  of  faith  is  the 
man  of  success. 

Faith,  then,  in  brief,  is  the  relation  of  the  soul 
in  all  its  powers  of  feeling,  thought,  and  will,  to 
God.  Faith  believes  that  God  is  the  absolute  Cause 
and  Creator  of  all  things  and  so  lives  in  Him.  Faith 
believes  that  the  natural  conditions  of  the  world  are 
of  God's  purpose  and  appointment,  and  so  accepts 
them  without  question  and  without  resistance,  with- 
out fretting  and  without  fear.  Faith  believes  in 
God's  wisdom  and  so  accepts  cheerfully  the  normal 
and  destined  way,  and  finds  that  way  good.  Faith 
believes  in  God's  unfailing  love,  and  so  trusts  Him 
for  all  things  needed.     Faith  believes  in  God's  care 


1 68  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  purpose  for  the  individual  and  so  submits  to  His 
providence  and  obeys  His  law.  Faith  believes  in 
God's  mercy,  and  so  forsakes  sins  and  forgets  them 
as  belonging  to  a  past  from  which  there  is  free- 
dom. Faith  believes  in  God's  grace,  and  so  receives 
from  Him  power  to  rise  from  a  dead  past  to  new 
and  higher  life.  Faith  believes  in  God's  power  as 
something  to  be  imparted  to  man,  and  so  faces  duty, 
difficulty,  danger,  and  things  which,  like  death,  seem 
to  defeat  the  soul  in  the  hope  of  sufficient  spiritual 
energy  to  insure  success  and  victory.  Faith  believes 
in  God's  eternity  and  so  hopes  in  Him  to  have  eter- 
nal life.  Faith  sings  ever  in  Saint  Paul's  immortal 
paean:  "I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death  nor  life, 
things  present  nor  things  to  come,  height  nor  depth, 
nor  any  creature  is  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 


CHAPTER  X 
Obedience 

r\  BEDIENCE  is  the  way  of  peace  and  of  power. 
^^  Obedience  escapes  the  hindrance  of  friction  and 
receives  the  inspiration  of  force.  In  inanimate  na- 
ture, every  planet  in  the  sky,  every  wave  upon  the 
breast  of  the  sea,  every  river  rolling  on  its  course, 
and  every  particle  of  matter  which  enters  into  the 
structure  of  any  material  thing,  must  obey  the  forces 
by  which  it  is  touched  and  moved,  if  its  destiny  is 
fulfilled.  Here  is  no  freedom  but  only  submission. 
This  is  the  law  of  perfect  form  and  of  freedom  from 
pain  and  from  deformity,  in  every  animated  physi- 
cal body. 

Obedience  is  the  absolute  condition  of  success  in 
human  affairs.  Whether  one  is  in  a  hospital  for  the 
healing  of  the  sick,  or  in  a  school  for  the  education 
of  the  mind,  or  in  a  factory  for  the  accomplishment 
of  some  work,  or  in  an  army  for  military  service; 
one  must  obey  those  in  authority.  The  prescriptions 
of  the  doctor  must  be  followed ;  the  lessons  assigned 
by  the  teacher  must  be  learned ;  the  directions  of  the 
foreman  must  be  carried  out;  the  commands  of  the 
captain  must  be  obeyed.  Without  obedience,  the 
business  of  the  world  would  be  disordered  and  de- 
stroyed; with  obedience,  the  business  of  the  world 
is  performed  regularly  and  good  results  are  secured. 
Among  fallible  men,  one  in  authority  may  err  in  his 
commands ;  but,  even  with  this  possibility,  none  may 
169 


170  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

venture  to  disobey — except  in  most  extraordinary 
instances  and  with  clear  vision — for,  on  the  whole, 
obedience  is  essential  to  the  accomplishmen  of  life's 
tasks. 

In  any  sphere  where  there  is  unerring  wisdom  and 
absolute  authority,  obedience  must  be  universal. 
Where  a  law  of  God  is  revealed,  there  the  life  of 
man  must  move.  As  men  obey  God  and  so  become 
workers  together  with  Him,  they  achieve  their  great- 
est works  and  attain  their  highest  good.  One  who 
would  attempt  to  walk  without  regard  to  the  law 
of  gravity,  or  to  swim  without  thought  of  the  laws 
of  water,  or  to  secure  harvests  without  knowledge 
and  care  of  seasons,  seeds,  soil,  and  sunshine,  would 
absolutely  fail.  Men  gain  success  only  as  they 
think  God's  great  thoughts  after  Him,  work  with 
Him  in  agriculture  and  in  manufacturing,  move 
with  Him  in  transportation  of  merchandise,  and 
submit  to  Him  in  all  the  ways  of  physical  busi- 
ness. One  may  deceive  and  defraud  his  fellowman 
in  a  business  transaction  and  seem  to  gain;  but  no 
one  can  deceive  or  defraud  God.  To  attempt  to 
defraud  God  is  to  defeat  one's  self.  Disobedience 
to  God  is  the  destruction  of  one's  endeavor.  This 
men  recognize  in  the  physical  universe ;  this  men 
should  recognize  in  the  spiritual  universe. 

Jesus,  the  highest  revelation  of  spiritual  reality 
and  the  greatest  teacher  of  moral  truth,  lays  supreme 
emphasis  upon  obedience.  These  are  some  of  Jesus' 
significant  sayings:  "Whosover  heareth  these  say- 
ings of  mine  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a 
wise  man."     **If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my 


Obedience  171 


words."  **Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  'Lord, 
Lord,'  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  but 
he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  **Whosover  shall  do  the  will  of  God,  the 
same  is  my  brother,  and  my  sister,  and  mother." 

Jesus  did  not  come  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  ful- 
fil it.  Jesus  reveals  the  spirit  of  that  law  which  is 
perfect  trust  in  God  and  perfect  love  of  men.  Jesus 
enlarges  love  beyond  geographical  and  racial  lines, 
frees  it  from  limitations  which  men  had  placed 
around  it,  and  makes  it  the  universal  principle  of 
holy  living.  Without  love,  a  man  cannot  worship 
God,  or  keep  the  commandments,  or  fulfil  his  duty, 
or  attain  his  destiny. 

There  is  no  department  of  life,  save  this  of  the 
spirit,  of  which  men  think  results  may  be  attained 
and  rewards  received  without  fulfilment  of  the  con- 
ditions on  which  they  rest.  But  in  the  sphere  of 
spirit,  some  think  the  fruits  of  love  may  be  obtained 
without  love  and  the  rewards  of  righteousness  may 
be  received  without  righteousness.  This  false  and 
injurious  opinion  arises  from  one  of  two  sources.  It 
arises,  sometimes,  from  the  presumptuous  thought 
that  the  goodness  of  God  will  compel  Him  to  give 
good  to  men  irrespective  of  character  and  deserts. 
It  arises,  sometimes,  in  part,  at  least,  from  the 
teaching  long  current  that  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  is  a  substitute  for  the  righteousness  of  men, 
and  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed 
rather  than  imparted  unto  men.  Men  have  been 
taught  that  they  are  justified  by  faith  as  one  is 
justified  whose  commercial  debt  has  been  paid  by 


172  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

another,  rather  than  that  they  are  justified  as  a 
branch  grafted  into  a  good  tree  is  justified  because 
of  the  life  that  is  in  it,  promising  blossom  and  fruit. 
The  former  conception  led  men  to  rest  satisfied  in  an 
imputed  righteousness;  the  latter  conception  leads 
men  to  seek  to  become  perfect  by  the  development 
of  the  life  that  is  in  them. 

Jesus  received  His  name  because  He  would  save 
His  people  from  their  sins,  not  in  their  sins.  He 
"hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  He  might  bring  us  to  God."  "He  died  for 
all,  that  they  which  live  should  not  henceforth 
live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him."  The  purpose 
of  Jesus'  work  was  to  the  end  "that  the  righeous- 
ness  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk 
not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit."  Through 
Jesus  we  are  brought  near  to  God,  reconciled  to 
Him  and  made  willing  to  do  His  will  rather  than 
our  own  will.  There  can  be  no  success  in  the 
Christian  life  save  as  one  conforms  to  this  law  of 
obedience. 

The  call  of  God  is  a  call  for  the  heart  of  man. 
The  demand  for  faith  is  a  demand  for  that  condition 
of  mind  which  will  make  a  man  follow  God  in 
thinking  and  in  willing.  The  salvation  promised 
in  the  gospel  is  salvation  from  self-will  unto  delight 
in  doing  the  will  of  God.  The  saved  man  is  a  fol- 
lower of  Jesus  who  said,  "Lo,  I  am  come  to  do  thy 
will,  O  God."  Jesus'  prayer  was,  "Not  my  will, 
but  thine  be  done."  When  Jesus  bids  men  come 
unto  Him  for  rest,  He  clearly  indicates  that  rest  will 
be  found  only  when  they  have  learned  of  Him  to 


Obedience  173 


possess  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit.  When  Saint  Paul 
bids  men  live  so  as  to  be  transformed  by  a  renewing 
of  the  mind,  it  is  to  the  end  that  they  may  learn 
by  practice  what  is  the  good  and  acceptable  will  of 
God.  When  Saint  Paul  bids  men  have  in  them  the 
mind  which  was  in  Christ,  it  is  to  the  end  that,  like 
Christ,  they  may  not  cherish  pride,  but  may  con- 
descend to  serve  with  a  lowly  mind  and  a  loving 
heart. 

Salvation,  as  a  possession,  is  the  cultivation  in 
man  of  the  moral  qualities  of  God.  The  saved  man 
is  the  godly — Godlike — man.  Practically,  a  man  is 
not  saved  because  he  is  loved,  but  because  he  loves. 
A  man  is  not  saved  because  he  is  forgiven,  but  be- 
cause he  is  forgiving.  A  man  is  not  saved  by  receiv- 
ing mercy,  but  by  being  merciful.  A  man  is  not 
saved  by  knowing  sympathy,  but  by  being  sympa- 
thetic. A  man  is  not  saved  by  knowing  generosity, 
but  by  being  generous.  The  bestowment  of  mercy, 
forgiveness,  and  grace  upon  any  man  is  to  the 
end  that  he  may  have  these  same  qualities  in  his  own 
character.  Jesus  bids  men  be  merciful  as  the  Father 
is  merciful ;  to  do  good  as  the  Father  does  good ; 
and  be  perfect  as  the  Father  is  perfect.  This  is  the 
goal  of  salvation.  It  is  to  be  gained  by  the  prac- 
tice of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit. 

One  who  would  succeed  in  the  Christian  life  must 
rise  above  the  law  of  nature  into  the  law  of  grace. 
The  impulses  of  the  natural  man  may  be  regarded 
as  the  law  of  nature.  A  man  naturally  thinks  of 
himself  and  thinks  but  little  of  others.  Jesus  says 
a  man  rnust  love  his  neighbor  as  hirnself.     He  must 


174  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

learn  to  consider  his  neighbor  as  himself  and  to  re- 
gard his  neighbor  as  he  regards  himself.  He  must 
not  treat  his  neighbor  in  a  way  which  would  be  in- 
jurious to  himself,  were  the  places  changed.  A  man 
naturally  seeks  things  for  himself  and  measures  them 
by  their  value  to  himself.  Jesus  would  have  a  man 
seek  the  things  which  are  profitable  to  others,  and 
value  them  by  what  they  are  worth  to  the  world. 
A  man  naturally  invites  to  his  home  and  to  his 
feasts,  those  who  can  repay  the  favor.  Jesus  bids 
a  man  invite  those  who  cannot  repay.  A  man 
naturally  lends  to  them  of  whom  he  hopes  to  re- 
ceive. Jesus  bids  a  man  lend  to  them  from  whom 
he  can  receive  nothing.  A  man  naturally  does  good 
to  them  who  do  good  to  him.  Jesus  bids  him  do 
good  to  them  who  do  evil  to  him.  That  is  to  say, 
a  man  should  do  good  spontaneously  and  without  re- 
gard to  the  actions  of  others.  In  all  this,  one  is  to 
rise  above  the  natural  impulses  of  his  own  heart  into 
the  sublimer  state  in  which  his  impulses  become  holy 
and  godlike  because  they  are  genuinely  unselfish  and 
loving. 

Again,  one  must  rise  above  the  civil  law  which 
regulates  the  conduct  of  a  citizen.  Many  persons 
tend  to  regulate  much  of  their  conduct  according 
to  the  civil  law  and  to  regard  themselves  as  being 
good  so  long  as  they  are  not  violating  the  laws  of 
men.  Jesus  clearly  teaches  that  His  disciples  must 
rise  into  a  higher  state  of  judgment  and  motive. 
The  natural  law  of  the  heart  of  man  impels  him 
when  injured  to  inflict,  in  return,  a  more  severe 
injury.    Naturally,  a  man  will  try  to  strike  a  harder 


Obedience  175 


blow  than  he  has  received ;  to  say  a  sharper  word 
than  he  has  heard ;  to  repay  in  kind  beyond  what 
he  has  suffered.  Human  law  tends  to  restrain  this 
natural  tendency  and  to  limit  punishment  to  retalia- 
tion. "An  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth" 
was  the  restraining  injunction  of  the  Mosaic  law. 
But  Jesus  says,  "I  say  unto  you  that  ye  resist  not 
evil."  Meet  the  angry  word  by  a  soft  answer.  Meet 
the  blow  struck  by  non  resistance.  Meet  even  an  un- 
just demand  by  more  than  is  asked.  If  the  law  or 
the  custom  of  the  country  will  compel  you  to  go  one 
mile  with  a  traveler  to  show  him  the  way,  go  with 
him  two  miles.  Do  more  than  the  law  demands. 
Now  all  this  implies  that  the  man  who  obeys  the 
higher  law  will  not  regulate  his  conduct  by  the  com- 
mands of  the  civil  law  which  are  usually  negative, 
nor  by  the  actions  of  other  men  who  may  be  evil,  but 
by  the  impulses  of  that  great  and  gracious  Spirit 
which  impels  him  to  do  good  actively  as  the  plan  of 
his  life.  Can  this  be  carried  out?  Try  it.  When 
one  member  of  your  family,  having  passed  an  un- 
comfortable night,  comes  to  your  breakfast  table 
in  an  unhappy  frame  of  mind  and  speaks  a  sharp 
word,  reply  in  like  tone  and  you  may  easily  have  a 
family  quarrel.  Return  a  soft  answer  and  quarrel- 
ing is  impossible,  and  most  likely  the  mind  of  the 
irritated  member  of  your  family  will  be  soothed. 
Let  one  child  who  has  been  struck  by  another  child, 
return  the  blow,  and  there  will  be  a  fight.  Let  the 
child  who  has  been  struck,  refuse  to  return  the 
blow,  and  most  probably  shame  will  suffuse  the 
heart  of  the  child  who  was  angry.     Let  a  neighbor 


176  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

do  you  a  wrong,  and  repay  him  in  kind,  and  you 
will  have  double  wrong  in  your  neighborhood.  If 
opportunity  offers,  do  kindness  to  the  evil  neighbor, 
and  a  flame  of  fire  will  burn  his  conscience.  The 
principle  of  Jesus'  teaching  is  that  evil  never  can  be 
overcome  by  evil,  but  must  be  overcome  by  good. 
Society  never  will  rise  high  by  the  natural  impulses 
of  the  human  heart  and,  by  the  negative  statutes  of 
human  law.  There  must  be  a  deeper,  purer,  and 
more  perfect  source  of  improvement. 

The  natural  man  is  governed  by  the  impulses  of 
his  own  nature,  and  lives  in  selfishness,  doing  good 
or  evil  according  as  he  thinks  it  will  pay  him.  The 
citizen  lives  with  regard  to  law  and  refrains  from 
doing  the  things  which  will  injure  others.  His 
goodness  is  the  absence  of  badness  and,  so  far  forth, 
is  gain.  The  social  man  lives  with  regard  to  his 
own  class ;  he  sends  his  invitations  to  feasts,  lends 
his  money,  and  confers  his  favors,  where  like  kind- 
nesses may  be  returned  to  him.  So  far  forth,  the 
social  man  is  in  advance,  for  he  does  good  within 
limitations;  but  he  does  this  good  because  it  will 
benefit  himself.  The  spiritual  man  lives  in  love, 
learns  to  obey  the  new  commandment  and  to  love  as 
Jesus  loved. 

How  did  Jesus  love?  Did  Jesus  love  men  be- 
cause they  were  really  lovable?  No.  Jesus  loved 
because  men  needed  love  and  because  they  might 
become  lovable.  One  may  love  a  beautiful  child 
simply  because  he  loves  himself,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  child  pleases  him.  One  may  love  a  child  be- 
cause the  child   needs  love,   and   becaues  love  may 


Obedience  177 


brighten  and  bless  the  child.  That  is  the  way  Jesus 
loved.  He  said,  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
Me."  What  then?  "I  must  bind  up  the  broken 
hearted,  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  preach  deliver- 
ance to  captives,  and  do  good  to  men."  What  Jesus 
had  of  spiritual  endurement  was  for  the  use  of  love. 

Jesus  called  unto  Him  His  disciples  and  gave 
unto  them  power.  What  then?  "Go,"  He  said, 
"heal  the  sick,  cast  out  devils,  preach  the  gospel." 
Power  was  for  beneficent  use.  This  is  the  law  of 
the  kingdom.  Whether  a  man's  power  is  physical 
strength,  or  mental  vigor,  or  the  faculty  of  making 
money,  or  administrative  ability,  or  personal  influ- 
ence, it  must  be  consecrated  and  used  so  as  to  bene- 
fit and  not  to  injure  men. 

Slowly  indeed  has  the  world  been  coming  to  be- 
lieve the  words  of  Jesus,  to  realize  the  regal  great- 
ness of  His  spirit,  and  to  know  that  the  way  of  love 
and  of  loving  service  is  the  way  of  peace  and  of 
power.  Certain  individuals  have  caught  the  inner 
meaning  of  Jesus'  words,  have  believed  them,  have 
lived  according  to  them,  and  have  become  benefac- 
tors in  society.  But  these  have  been  looked  upon 
as  exceptional  persons  rather  than  as  true  examples 
of  Christian  living.  Many  dissatisfied  and  unhappy 
persons  whose  names  stand  upon  a  church  roll  and 
who  in  many  ways  are  good  people,  would  find 
life  filled  with  new  interest  and  zeal,  with  fresh  hap- 
piness and  joy,  if  just  where  they  are  and  in  the 
things  they  must  do,  they  were  to  cultivate  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  and  love  as  He  loved.  An  introspective, 
self-centered,  self-circumscribed  life  is  the  secret  of 


178  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

the  unhappiness  of  many  people.  Jesus  in  His  daily 
life  did  not  follow  a  set  program.  He  simply  went 
about  doing  good  as  the  opportunity  came.  Much 
that  He  did,  in  comparison  with  His  person  and 
His  power,  was  lowly  ministry;  but  His  spirit  made 
everything  great.  It  is  neither  where  you  are,  nor 
what  you  do,  but  the  spirit  in  which  you  live  and 
speak  and  act,  that  counts. 

Very  gradually,  the  light  of  this  truth  is  dawn- 
ing upon  the  minds  of  men.  They  are  beginning  to 
see  that  all  life  is  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  spirit  of 
Jesus.  The  religious  man  is  no  longer  the 
man  of  a  certain  order  of  office,  but  the 
man  of  a  certain  spirit.  The  laborer  who 
toils,  the  merchant  who  distributes,  the  cap- 
italist who  controls  money,  the  statesman  who  di- 
rects the  course  of  political  history,  and  the  man  in 
any  walk  of  life  may  live  and  must  live  in  the  spirit 
of  ministry,  if  his  life  is  to  fulfill  the  will  of  God 
and  so  be  complete  and  perfect. 

There  has  been  much  false  teaching,  and,  as  a 
result  thereof,  much  misconception  of  the  meaning 
of  labor  and  of  business.  This  has  tended  to  debase 
the  motives  of  men  and  to  destroy  pure  morality.  A 
few  examples  may  be  noted.  For  centuries,  the 
Chritian  church  taught  that  labor  is  part  of  the 
curse  which  followed  the  fall  of  man.  Unfallen 
man  was  a  gentleman,  a  lord,  who  should  live  with- 
out labor.  Fallen  man  is  a  serf,  doomed  to  toil  as 
a  penalty  for  sin.  Labor,  therefore,  could  be  only 
servile  in  spirit  and  a  form  of  life  to  be  escaped. 
Teachers   of    economics    taught    *'th?    iron    law    pf 


Obedience  179 


wages,"  namely,  that  the  natural  wage  to  be  paid 
a  workman  was  the  lowest  amount  which  the  labor- 
er will  accept  and  on  which  laborers  can  be  repro- 
duced. Teachers  of  political  economy  taught  that 
the  merchant  who  bought  in  the  lowest  market,  sold 
in  the  highest,  and  so  obtained  the  greatest  imme- 
diate profit  for  himself,  fulfilled  the  whole  law  of 
merchandising.  Apparently,  it  did  not  occur  to  such 
teachers  that  this  spirit  and  method  discouraged 
production,  lessened  the  number  of  purchases  which 
a  customer  could  make,  lessened  the  wealth  of  the 
world,  and  so  limited  the  wealth  of  the  merchant 
himself. 

Economists  also  taught  bankers  to  exact  the  high- 
est possible  interest  so  as  to  enrich  themselves.  Such 
teachers  failed  to  see  that  they  discouraged  invest- 
ments, lessened  the  scope  of  investments,  and,  in 
the  end,  decreased  the  income  even  of  the  bankers 
themselves.  Political  economists,  both  by  the  spirit 
and  the  letter  of  their  teachings,  taught  rulers  to 
regard  their  own  interest  first.  The  ruling  class 
considered  themselves  as  divinely  elected  to  live  as 
parasites  upon  society,  rendering  no  equivalent  ser- 
vice for  what  they  received. 

All  this  the  spirit  of  the  divine  kingdom  inspired 
by  Christianity  has-  been  changing  and  will  yet 
continue  to  change.  As,  historically,  the  struggle 
for  religious  freedom  led  to  the  establishment  of 
political  freedom ;  so  the  doctrines  of  indebtedness 
for  divine  grace,  of  the  law  of  love,  and  of  the  obli- 
gation of  service,  declared  in  the  church,  have  been 
leavening  the  world.     The  change  wrought  is  of 


l8o  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

value  chiefly  in  the  formation  of  character,  but  it  is 
also  of  immense  value  in  contributing  to  the  mater- 
ial welfare  of  the  world. 

The  laborer  who  learns  to  live  in  the  spirit  of  the 
carpenter  of  Nazareth,  the  laborer  who  regards  labor 
not  as  a  curse  but  as  a  blessing,  who  measures  the 
value  of  his  work  not  in  terms  of  wages  but  in  terms 
of  its  worth  to  the  world,  becomes  a  free  man  whose 
toil  does  not  enslave  but  ennobles.  The  merchant  who 
learns  to  conduct  his  business  in  the  spirit  of  Him 
who  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  minister, 
the  merchant  who  regards  the  rights  of  the  produc- 
er from  whom  he  buys  and  the  welfare  of  the  cus- 
tomer to  whom  he  sells,  who  allows  a  profit  to  the 
producer  and  is  content  with  a  small  profit  from 
the  consumer,  will  find  that  he  encourages  produc- 
tion and  increases  the  number  of  things  which  his 
customer  will  buy,  thereby  increasing  directly  the 
wealth  of  the  world  and  indirectly  increasing  his 
own  wealth.  The  banker  who  learns  to  live  in  the 
spirit  of  Him  who  believes  that  He  has  freely  re- 
ceived and  so  should  freely  give,  the  banker  who  is 
content  with  moderate  interest  which  allows  the 
borrower  to  make  a  profit  on  his  business,  will 
find  that  he  increases  the  number  of  his  customers 
and  the  number  of  those  who  have  money  to  place  in 
his  bank  for  care  and  use,  and  so  increases  his  own 
business  and  profits.  The  statesman  who  learns  to 
live  in  the  spirit  of  Him  who  says  that  he  who  serves 
most  is  greatest,  finds  that  by  serving  the  people  over 
whom  he  rules,  he  increases  their  loyalty  and  the 
security  of  his  own  power. 


Obedience  l8l 


Men  are  beginning  to  see  that  both  the  welfare 
and  the  wealth  of  the  world  are  increased  by  obed- 
ience to  the  law  of  Christ.  Churches,  colleges,  and 
universities  are  teaching  a  much  more  enlightened 
science  of  life  to  the  young  than  was  formerly 
taught.  The  change  which  has  taken  place  within 
the  past  forty  years  is  most  marked.  Subjects  which 
scarcely  would  have  been  mentioned  in  a  college 
course  forty  years  since,  are  now  fully  considered. 
The  churches  no  longer  teach  that  labor  is  a  penalty 
but  that  it  belongs  to  the  natural  order  of  the  world. 
Colleges  teach,  in  the  treatment  of  economics,  that 
the  dignity,  the  rights,  and  opportunities  of  the 
individual  man  must  be  regarded.  Universities 
teach  that  political  economy  is  not  simply  "the  sci- 
ence of  wealth,"  but  the  science  of  right  living. 

Experience,  also,  has  shown  the  fallacy  of  much 
past  doctrine  and  the  value  of  Christian  principles 
of  living.  "The  iron  law  of  wages"  is  past.  Exper- 
ience has  proved  that  to  give  the  laborer  such  condi- 
tions of  labor  and  of  living  as  increase  comfort  and 
inspire  hope,  is  to  increase  intelligence,  capability, 
and  efficiency.  Governmental  control  of  banking 
with  its  effort  to  make  money  obtainable  at  low 
rates  of  interest;  the  growing  disposition  of  mer- 
chants to  be  content  with  small  profits  and  to  de- 
pend on  large  sales;  public  effort  to  obtain  a  mini- 
mum wage  and  the  legal  regulation  of  hours  and 
conditions  of  labor,  are  all  indications  of  the  effort 
to  destroy  injustice  and  oppression,  and  to  make  pos- 
sible freedom  both  of  labor  and  of  capital  within  just 
lines  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  in  general.     Sue- 


1 82  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

cess  along  these  lines  can  be  secured  in  full  only 
when,  in  addition  to  law,  the  spirit  of  service  takes 
possession  of  the  hearts  of  mankind,  and  men  strive 
to  do  the  best  they  can  for  one  another  in  the  work 
and  the  business  of  life.  Law,  in  the  main,  can 
restrain  only  from  certain  violations  of  what  is 
right;    love  can  compel  obedience  to  what  is  right. 

Jesus  said,  "My  Father  worketh  hitherto  and  I 
work."  He  who  believes  that  the  law  of  the 
divine  life  is  revealed  in  the  spirit  and  the  ministry 
of  Jesus,  and  who  endeavors  to  obey  that  law  in  his 
own  life,  will  find  himself  able  to  fulfil  that  law. 
He  who  sees  the  heavenly  vision,  and  who  hears  the 
divine  voice,  will  be  able  to  obey  the  divine  law  of 
life. 

There  is  a  traditional  story  of  Abraham  which 
will  serve  to  illustrate  this  fact.  "When  Abraham 
sat  at  his  tent  door,  according  to  his  custom,  wait- 
ing to  entertain  strangers,  he  espied  an  old  man 
stooping  and  leaning  on  his  staff,  weary  with  age 
and  travel,  coming  towards  him,  who  was  an  hun- 
dred years  of  age.  He  received  him  kindly,  washed 
his  feet,  provided  supper,  and  caused  him  to  sit 
down ;  but  observing  that  the  old  man  ate  and  pray- 
ed not,  nor  begged  for  a  blessing  upon  his  meat, 
Abraham  asked  him  why  he  did  not  worship  the 
God  of  heaven.  The  old  man  told  him  that  he  wor- 
shipped the  fire  only  and  acknowledged  no  other 
god ;  at  which  answer,  Abraham  grew  so  zealously 
angry,  that  he  thrust  the  old  man  out  of  his  tent, 
and  exposed  him  to  all  the  evils  of  the  night  and  an 
unguarded  condition.    When  the  old  man  was  gone, 


Obedience  183 


God  called  to  him  and  asked  him  where  the  stranger 
was;  he  replied,  'I  thrust  him  away,  because  he  did 
not  worship  Thee.'  God  answered,  'I  have  suffered 
him  these  hundred  years,  though  he  dishounored  me ; 
and  couldest  thou  not  endure  him  for  one  night, 
when  he  gave  thee  no  trouble?'  Upon  this,  saith 
the  story,  Abraham  fetched  him  back  again  and 
gave  him  hospitable  entertainment  and  wise  instruc- 
tion. Go  thou  and  do  likew^ise,  and  thy  charity  will 
be  'rewarded  by'  the  God  of  Abraham."  It  was  the 
knowledge  of  what  God  did  that  enabled  Abraham 
to  love  in  most  practical  ways  the  man  whom  he  had 
regarded  as  loveless.  Faith  in  God  as  revealed  in 
the  gospel  and  the  desire  of  fellowship  with  Him, 
lead  ever  in  the  ways  of  right  living.  This  ever  has 
been  the  method  of  the  holiest  character  and  the 
highest  service. 

The  New  Testament  insists  on  obedience  as  the 
indispensable  condition  of  spiritual  well-being.  He 
that  believeth  not,  he  that  loveth  not,  he  that  obey- 
eth  not,  is  condemned.  "He  that  believeth  not  is 
condemned."  "If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  let  him  be  anathema."  "They  that  obey  not 
the  gospel,  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  de- 
struction." But  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  written, 
"Believe  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  "If  a  man  love 
Me,  he  will  keep  My  words,"  says  Jesus.  "He 
became  unto  all  them  that  obey  Him,  the  author 
of  eternal  salvation."  These  are  among  the  plainest 
promises  of  the  New  Testament. 

Obedience  must  be  in  the  spirit  in  that  it  is  sub- 
jected to  the  mind  and  the  ways  of  Christ.     All 


184  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

revelation  is  for  knowledge.  All  doctrine  is  to  make 
possible  fulfillment  of  duty.  All  ritual  of  worship 
is  for  discipline  in  righteousness.  Therefore,  suc- 
cess can  come  only  through  obedience. 

Failure  in  Christian  living  comes  more  frequently 
through  lack  of  obedience  than  in  any  other  way. 
If  any  one  is  failing  either  in  the  strength  or  in  the 
joy  of  Christian  living,  he  may  well  inquire  whether 
he  is  obeying  the  love  and  the  law  of  Christ.  One 
who  frets  about  the  future  is  failing  in  faith  in 
God.  One  who  cherishes  an  irritable  and  unloving 
spirit  is  failing  to  dwell  in  the  love  of  God.  One 
who  does  not  endeavor  to  render  some  service  is 
failing  to  move  with  the  moving  power  of  God. 
One  who  makes  the  acquistion  of  wealth  the  chief 
aim  in  life,  is  failing  to  act  with  God  in  the  supreme 
purpose  of  living.  One  who  is  permitting  the  love 
of  pleasure  to  absorb  thought  and  time  to  the  neglect 
of  better  things,  is  quenching  the  spirit  and  losing 
the  flame  of  devotion. 

But  he  who  trusts  God  for  the  future  and  obeys 
Him  in  the  present;  who  keeps  himself  in  daily 
consciousness  of  the  love  of  God  for  him ;  who 
makes  his  daily  living  a  daily  service  in  whatever 
he  does;  who  uses  increasing  power  of  strength, 
knowledge,  or  wealth  as  a  means  of  doing  good; 
who,  in  all  things,  seeks  to  glorify  God  and  to  ben- 
efit men,  will  find  the  peace  of  God  possessing  his 
mind,  the  love  of  God  warming  his  heart,  and  the 
power  of  God  making  him  strong.  His  face  will 
have  a  look  of  peace.  He  will  have  a  certain  win- 
someness  of  nature.     He  will  have  unfailing  power 


Obedience  185 


in  himself.     He  will  never  want  for  joy. 

No  one  can  stand  upon  the  sunny  heights,  where 
heaven  lies  and  where  the  overhanging  sky  is  ever 
clear,  without  absolute  faith  in  God.  No  one  can 
be  serene  in  the  midst  of  the  storms  of  life  unless 
his  confidence  is  in  Him  who  is  above  all  storms 
and  without  whose  causative  or  permissive  will, 
storms  cannot  be.  No  one  can  be  strong  in  the 
midst  of  the  duties,  difficulties,  disappointments,  and 
apparent  defeats  of  life  unless  he  is  moving  with  the 
divine  spirit  in  ways  of  truth  and  love.  If  success 
comes  to  any  one  in  the  way  of  Christian  living,  it 
must  come  along  the  line  of  implicit  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God.  To  the  man  who  obeys,  all  things 
belong;  for  he  is  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's. 
To  him,  heaven  will  flash  with  beauty,  earth  will 
bear  rich  bounty,  men  will  become  friends,  and  life 
will  enrich  him  as  a  child  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Neglect 

A  N  Oriental  writer  of  proverbs  and  an  observer 
'^of  the  causes  and  the  consequences  of  gain  and 
loss  in  life  has  said : 

"I  went  by  the  field  of  the  sluggard, 
And  by  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void  of  under- 
standing, 
And,  lo,  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns, 
The  face  thereof  was  covered  with  nettles. 
And  the  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken  down. 
I  saw  and  received  instruction." 

This  was  a  wise  man,  for  he  walked  with  open 
eyes;  an  observant  man,  for  he  saw  the  condition 
of  the  field  of  the  slothful  and  of  the  vineyard  of  the 
man  void  of  understanding;  a  man  of  discernment, 
for  he  perceived  that  the  cause  of  the  sad  condition, 
was  neglect.  This  fact  of  neglect  as  the  cause  of 
grave  consequence,  many  fail  to  see.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  the  life  and  the  welfare  of  the  spirit. 

There  is  a  quiet  assumption  on  the  part  of  many 
persons,  that  a  man  must  make  a  positive  choice  of 
evil  and  pursue  it  with  zeal  and  steadfastness  if  he 
is  to  be  adjudged  worthy  of  condemnation,  and  suf- 
fer irretrievable  loss.  Is  it  not  strange  that  with 
all  the  patent  facts  of  nature  and  of  life,  it  has  not 
occurred  to  them  that  a  man  must  make  a  positive 
1 86 


Neglect  187 

choice  of  good  and  pursue  it  with  zeal  and  stead- 
fastness, if  he  is  to  be  deemed  worthy  of  commen- 
dation and  of  abiding  reward? 

If  a  man  enters  this  world  at  the  summit  of  hu- 
man character  and  attainment,  then,  of  course,  he 
can  descend  from  that  summit  only  by  a  choice 
which  leads  downward.  But  if  a  man  enters  the 
world  at  the  beginning  of  human  character,  a  crea- 
ture to  be  developed,  then,  he  can  rise  only  by 
choice  and  action.  Embryonic  life  everywhere  is  a 
capacity  of  reception,  a  potential  power,  a  possibility, 
a  promise.  Everywhere,  with  plants  and  animals 
alike,  life  is  conditioned,  and  all  that  is  necessary  to 
insure  failure,  is  neglect.  A  neglected  garden  runs 
to  weeds;  its  few  plants  left  from  former  cultiva- 
tion deteriorate  or  die  outright.  A  neglected  field 
yields  no  harvest.  A  neglected  animal,  though  the 
product  of  former  care  and  culture,  speedily  reverts 
to  a  lower  type.  Moles  which  have  burrowed  in 
the  earth,  have  lost  their  eyesight.  Fish  which  live 
in  caverns,  like  the  Mammoth  Cave,  become  blind. 
Minds  unexercised  become  idiotic  or  insane.  Neglect 
everywhere  tends  to  degeneration.  Degeneration  is 
as  common  as  development.  The  end  of  degenera- 
tion is  death. 

One  of  the  solemn  and  significant  questions  of  the 
scriptures  is  this:  "How  shall  we  escape,  if  we 
neglect  so  great  salvation?"  The  scriptures  leave 
the  question  unanswered,  because  the  answer  is 
obvious.  The  word  salvation,  so  far  as  it  relates 
to  the  means  of  securing  that  state,  is  the  revelation 
of  divine  love  and  the  promise  of  redemption  and  of 


The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 


the  gift  of  the  spirit  of  life.  The  word  salvation, 
in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  acceptance  of  the  means 
and  the  achievement  of  character  and  life,  means 
a  condition  which  man  may  attain.  All  that  is  re- 
quired to  fail  of  salvation,  is  neglect.  This  is  in 
full  accord  with  the  law  of  life  everywhere.  Neglect 
on  the  part  of  farmer  or  gardner  or  fruit  grower, 
means  the  loss  of  possible  gain  and,  ultimately,  the 
loss  of  all  he  had  set  himself  to  cultivate.  Death  is 
quite  as  common  as  life,  and  more  natural.  "Life 
is  the  sum  total  of  the  forces  which  resist  death." 
The  preservation  and  the  perfection  of  life  every- 
where are  conditioned.  Asphyxia  is  suspended  ani- 
mation resulting  from  interrupted  respiration.  If 
an  animate  creature  neglects  to  breathe,  whatever 
may  be  the  cause,  poison  of  the  blood  and  cessation 
of  heart  beat  ensue,  and  the  result  is  death.  If  a 
living  creature  neglects  to  eat  food ;  weakness,  faint- 
ing, and  death  soon  follows.  All  that  is  required 
to  insure  death  is  neglect  of  the  means  of  sustaining 
life.  Solitary  confinement  produces  insanity.  The 
lonely  life  of  many  country  people  prior  to  the  mod- 
ern means  of  conversation  by  telephone  and  of  travel 
by  trolley,  resulted  in  a  large  number  of  cases  of  in- 
sanity, especially  among  women. 

It  is  in  accord  with  all  this,  that  faith,  love,  and 
hope  should  fail,  and  the  qualities  of  spiritual  life 
decay;  if  the  conditions  of  their  growth  are  not  im- 
proved. The  neglect  of  the  means  of  their  develop- 
ment insures  their  loss. 

"Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also 
reap."     This  is  an  abiding  law  of  nature.     And,  if 


Neglect  189 


a  man  sows  nothing,  he  will  reap  nothing.  Should 
a  man  who  sows  nothing,  reap  a  golden  harvest  of 
wheat?  Should  a  student  who  is  indolent,  reap  the 
rewards  of  scholarship?  Would  there  be  incentive 
to  arduous  and  high  endeavor,  if  neglect  of  labor 
and  of  study  issued  in  the  same  rewards  as  effort 
and  diligence?  In  every  sphere  of  life  in  which 
things  material  and  mental  are  concerned,  men 
recognize  the  rule  and  the  justice  of  the  law  of  re- 
ward. They  find  the  law  a  beneficent  condition 
of  the  development  of  that  which  is  good,  and  an 
incentive  to  effort  which  insures  gain.  Only  in 
the  sphere  of  the  spirit,  do  men  claim  that  grace 
should  bring  holiness  and  heaven  to  men,  irrespec- 
tive of  their  own  choice  and  effort.  Here  alone, 
do  men  think  there  should  be  a  lawless  world  in 
which  eternal  life  should  be  given  to  all  men.  How 
can  this  be?  Law  must  rule  here  as  elsewhere 
in  God's  universe.  The  Son  of  God  did  not  come 
into  the  world  to  destroy  law,  but  to  fulfill  it.  He 
does  not  save  men  by  making  them  free  from  law, 
but  by  enabling  them'  to  fulfill  law.  This  is  the 
covenant  which  I  will  make,  saith  the  Lord:  "I  will 
put  my  laws  on  their  heart,  and  upon  their  mind 
also  will  I  write  them."  Obedience  is  not  to  the 
letter  but  to  the  spirit  of  the  law.  The  law  here 
as  elsewhere  is  beneficent.  It  makes  for  good  char- 
acter and  for  a  perfect  society.  It  is  a  high  law 
because  man  is  to  have  a  high  destiny.  Great  char- 
acter could  not  be  produced  in  a  lawless  world 
where  rewards  are  conferred  without  regard  to  de- 
sert.    Men  are  saved   from  sin,   but  not  through 


I90  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

lawlessness.  Forgiveness  is  restoration  to  the  divine 
favor,  and  is  a  most  gracious  act  on  the  part  of  God. 
But  salvation  which  is  the  completion  of  character 
in  the  likeness  of  God,  is  an  achievement.  Salva- 
tion is  accomplished  by  the  acceptance  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  spiritual  life  and  by  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  the  divine  kingdom. 

Men  usually  do  not  become  bad  by  first  choosing 
some  evil  thing  and  pursuing  it  with  zeal.  '  Men 
become  bad  by  refusing  to  choose  some  good  thing 
and  by  neglecting  to  grow  in  the  love  of  righteous- 
ness. The  man  who  pursues  something  good  with 
ardor,  is  not  usually  led  into  base  sins.  The  old 
adage  that  **Satan  finds  some  work  for  idle  hands 
to  do"  rests  on  a  very  common  law.  Nature,  it 
is  said,  abhors  a  vacuum.  Something  will  fill  it. 
Jesus  relates  a  parable  of  a  man  out  of  whom  an 
evil  spirit  was  cast,  but  into  whom  nothing  good 
entered.  As  a  result,  seven  spirits  more  evil  than 
the  first  entered  into  that  man  and  dwelt  in  him. 
An  uninhabited  house  becomes  the  abode  of  spiders 
and  bats  and  unclean  insects.  An  imagination  which 
cherishes  pictures  of  uncleanness  and  lawlessness, 
leads  to  a  lawless  and  unclean  life.  ''Keep  thy 
heart  with  all  diligence,  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues 
of  life."  "Out  of  the  heart,"  says  Jesus,  "proceed 
evil  thoughts,  murders,  blasphemies."  The  heart 
which  is  not  actively  engaged  in  taking  in  things 
true,  pure,  and  good  soon  will  be  filled  with  things 
false,  impure,  and  evil.  The  tragedy  of  life  pro- 
ceeds from  an  empty  and  then  from  an  evil  heart. 

Fineness  of  nature  is  marked  by  sensitiveness  to 


Neglect  191 


impressions.  There  is  a  great  difference  in  persons 
in  respect  of  sensitiveness  in  the  senses  of  touch, 
taste,  smell,  seeing,  and  hearing.  The  different 
colors  in  the  spectrum  are  made  by  the  different 
number  of  vibrations  of  light  per  second.  Persons 
who  are  color-blind  cannot  distinguish  these  differ- 
ences, and  so  cannot  distinguish  colors.  In  the 
sense  of  hearing,  there  is  not  only  a  natural  differ- 
ence in  persons,  but  there  is  a  great  difference  be- 
tween the  untrained  and  the  trained  ear.  With 
respect  to  pitch  in  musical  notes,  Preyer  found  that 
unpracticed  persons  distinguish  a  difference  of  from 
eight  to  sixteen  vibrations  as  producing  a  distinct 
difference  in  the  sensation  of  pitch.  It  has  been 
said  that,  "The  trained  musician  can  detect  by  ear 
a  difference  in  quality  between  two  tones  of  four 
hundred  and  four  hundred  and  one-third  vibrations 
per  second." 

This  fineness  of  sensation  in  physical  nature  is 
suggestive  of  the  fineness  of  impressibility  which 
may  be  cultivated  in  the  moral  nature.  Persons 
who  have  not  trained  themselves  to  see,  miss  many 
forms  and  many  colors  of  beauty  which  delight  the 
mind  of  the  man  whose  eyes  have  been  trained  to  see. 
Earth  and  sky  glow  with  beauty  to  him  whose  eyes 
have  been  opened ;  all  nature  sings  to  him  whose 
ears,  according  to  the  fine  Hebrew  idiom,  have  been 
uncovered. 

The  prophets  and  Jesus  are  absolutely  correct 
when  they  speak  of  men  whose  eyes  have  grown 
dim  that  they  cannot  see,  whose  ears  have  grown 
dull  that  they  cannot  hear,  and  who§e  hearts  have 


192  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

grown  gross  that  they  cannot  know.  So  the  su- 
premely sad  fact  remains  that  men  who  are  dying 
in  their  spiritual  nature,  may  be  unconscious  of  that 
fact.  They  only  know  that  what  some  persons  say 
they  see  and  feel,  seems  unreal  to  them ;  and  that 
things  which  others  speak  of  knowing,  are  to  them 
unknown.  But  they  feel  no  loss,  for  sensibility  is 
either  latent  or  dead.  The  whole  upper  sphere  of 
life  may  become  an  unknown  world  to  men  who 
live  in  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  in  the  lust  of  the  world, 
and  in  the  pride  of  life.  They  only  know  that  they 
care  nothing  for  those  things  which  others  love  and 
praise ;  that  those  things  seem  to  them  unreal.  Some 
Christian  people  who  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  faith 
in  God  and  in  communion  with  the  Spirit,  and  who 
delight  in  things  divine,  suppose  that  all  other  per- 
sons equally  may  enjoy  the  things  which  they  enjoy 
and  that,  if  they  do  not  enjoy  them,  they  should 
know  what  they  miss.  But,  in  reality,  things  are 
not  missed  when  men  become  so  blind  that  they  can- 
not see  them  and  so  gross  that  they  cannot  know 
them.  A  man  with  no  appreciation  of  music  and 
with  no  love  for  music,  does  not  know  what  he  has 
missed,  nor  mourn  his  loss;  but  it  is  loss. 

When  God  speaks  of  withdrawing  from  men  and 
of  withholding  His  Spirit,  He  is  simply  expressing 
what  takes  place,  practically,  when  men  refuse  to 
receive  the  grace  which  is  offered  them,  and  so  lose 
the  power  to  receive  it.  There  comes  a  time  when  a 
grain  of  corn  cannot  be  quickened  by  sunlight,  a 
time  when  an  egg  cannot  become  a  bird,  a  time  when 
an  embryo  cannot  become  an  animal.     There  is  also 


Neglect  193 


a  time  when  a  body  which  has  asphyxia  cannot  re- 
ceive air,  cannot  be  charged  again  with  life,  cannot 
partake  of  food.  That  body  has  passed  beyond  the 
limit  of  reception.  Henceforth,  it  must  be  left  to 
the  action  of  forces  which  dissipate  and  destroy  it. 

This  seems  to  be  the  condition  of  some  souls. 
They  cannot  be  touched  by  sermon,  by  song,  by 
gospel  story,  by  the  presence  of  a  holy  life,  or  by  the 
touch  of  tender  and  yearning  love.  They  are  dead 
so  far  as  spiritual  things  are  concerned.  We  do  not 
like  to  think  that  this  is  so,  but  we  know  that  there 
are  those  on  whom  Christian  truth  and  love  and  life 
make  no  impression.  The  sacred  scriptures  pro- 
nounce such  persons  dead  in  sin.  This  is  the  su- 
preme danger  to  which  men  are  exposed.  There  is 
need  of  all  the  warnings  which  may  be  given  to  lead 
men  to  see  the  danger  of  refusing  to  accept  divine 
grace  and  to  choose  the  means  and  the  way  of  life. 
Would  that  all  men  could  be  made  to  see  that 
danger  lies  primarily  and  chiefly  in  neglecting  the 
things  which  are  true  and  good  and  which  make  for 
life ! 

It  is  neglect  which  Jesus  emphasizes.  In  the 
teaching  of  Jesus,  the  man  who  neglected  to  put 
on  the  wedding  garment  was  judged  unworthy  of 
the  wedding  feast;  the  man  who  neglected  to  put 
his  talent  with  the  bankers  was  deprived  of  that 
talent;  the  foolish  virgins  who  neglected  to  take 
oil  with  their  lamps  were  excluded  from  the  bride- 
groom's house  when  the  bridegroom  came;  Jeru- 
salem which  neglected  the  day  of  her  visitation,  be- 
came a  city  for  which  there  was  left  only  lamenta- 


194 


The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 


tion  and  tears;    the  men  of  Jesus'  time  were  con- 
demned    because   they    neglected    to    come   to    Him 
that  they  might  have  life.    Accordmg  to  Jesus,  con- 
demnation comes  upon  men  because    ight  has  come, 
and  they  love  darkness.     The  loss  which  is  irrepar- 
able  and  final,   is   not  because  of  original  sin  nor 
actual  transgression,  but  because  men  will  not  hear 
and  see  and  believe  and  so  receive  salvation.     Men 
are  not  finally  lost  because  they  have  been  sinners, 
but  because  they  have  refused  to  be  saved.      1  his 
refusal,  in  most  cases,  takes  the  course  of  neglect. 
The  majority  of  mankind  are  not  now  and,  perhaps, 
never  have  been  very  bad  in  the  sense  of  wickedness; 
but  many  are  indifferent  to  the  things  of  the  spirit 
They  live  in  the  flesh;    they  love  the  world;    they 
neglect  the  opportunities  which   God   gives  them; 
they  refuse  the  call  to  the  higher  life;    they  belong 
to  a  temporal  and  transient  order.     The  neglect  of 
salvation  is  the  crying  sin  of  the  world. 

Who  can  tell  how  much  is  lost  out  of  .the  heart 
and  life  of  the  man  who  neglects  salvation?  1  o 
him,  the  heavens  shine  with  sun  by  day  and  with 
stars  by  night;  but  they  shine  only  to  warm  his 
fields  and  to  guide  his  steps;  they  do  not  declare 
to  him  the  glory  of  God  who  made  them.  To  him, 
flowers  bloom  in  brilliant  beauty,  and  harvests  wave 
in  golden  splendor;  but  no  harvest  ever  speaks  to 
his  soul  of  the  goodness  of  God  who  feeds  men, 
and  no  bush  burning  in  glowing  colors  ever  declares 
to  his  soul  a  message  from  the  invisible  Spint  oH ife^ 
Never  with  uncovered  head  does  he  bow  before  the 
heavens  above,  nor  with  unsandaled  feet  turn  aside 


Neglect  195 


and  wait  before  flower  and  field  for  a  message  from 
the  divine.  To  him,  prayer  is  an  unknown  tongue, 
or  if  he  prays,  it  is  in  the  spirit  of  the  Pharisee  of 
whom  Jesus  said,  "He  prayed  with  himself."  If 
petitions  are  ever  on  his  lips,  they  are  for  something 
which  God  may  give  to  him  and  never  that  he  may 
learn  and  do  the  will  of  God.  Prayer,  to  him,  is  a 
breath  of  selfishness  wafted  heavenward,  and  never 
the  opening  of  his  soul  to  the  inspiring  breath  of 
God. 

To  the  man  who  neglects  the  higher  life  and  who 
lives  in  the  lower  spheres  of  being,  love  is  likewise 
self-centered  and  limited.  The  natural  man  loves 
himself,  and  he  loves  all  other  things  embraced  in 
his  affections  for  himself.  He  loves  for  what  the 
object  of  his  love  may  bring  to  him.  His  parents 
are  almoners  of  bounty.  His  wife  is  a  source  of 
delight.  His  children  are  means  of  personal  pleas- 
ure, or  means  of  perpetuating  his  plans,  when  his 
own  power  fails.  His  fellowmen  are  instruments  of 
service.  The  love  of  a  selfish  man  never  outruns  the 
limits  of  his  own  personality.  His  love  is  never  lost 
in  the  life  of  another  as  a  stream  is  lost  in  joining 
a  river,  or  a  river  is  lost  in  the  sea.  The  center  and 
the  circumference  of  love  are  in  the  man  himself. 
The  love  of  Christ  never  constrains  such  a  man. 
He  is  never  lost  and  carried  onward  by  that  great, 
warm  current  of  love  which  issues  from  the  heart 
of  God.  The  stream  of  his  affections  never  bears 
him  heavenward. 

The  natural,  psychical  man  neglects  the  means  of 
salvation.     Neglect  of  the  means  of  rising,  means 


196  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

falling.  Neglect  of  the  way  of  expansion,  means 
contraction.  Neglect  of  the  means  of  growth,  means 
atrophy  and  decay.  Neglect  of  the  way  of  life, 
means  death.  He  who  has  eyes  to  see,  may  read 
this  law  written  on  every  hand.  This  law  is  writ- 
ten in  the  garden,  in  the  field,  in  the  forest,  in  the 
shop,  in  the  school,  and  in  the  church.  Neglect  in 
the  garden,  means  weeds;  in  the  field,  no  harvest; 
in  the  forest,  decay ;  in  the  shop,  loss  of  skill ;  in 
the  school,  ignorance ;  in  the  church,  spiritual  de- 
cline and  moral  deterioration.  He  who  sees  this, 
easily  may  know  that  a  man  must  awake,  learn  the 
truth  of  God,  receive  His  grace,  and  do  His  will, 
if  he  would  win  life. 

The  fact  that  salvation  is  of  grace,  no  more  de- 
prives man  of  freedom  and  opportunity  than  the  fact 
of  selection  in  nature  deprives  plant  and  animal  of 
the  means  of  growth.  Selection  means  the  survival 
of  such  plants  and  animals  as  fulfil  the  conditions 
of  growth.  In  all  education,  save  the  education  of 
the  soul,  the  necessity  of  diligence  is  recognized.  If 
children  were  left  to  follow  their  own  natural  in- 
clination, many  never  would  go  to  school,  or  acquire 
knowledge  and  skill.  Until  a  child  is  sufficiently 
developed  to  choose  a  course  of  training  for  himself 
and  stick  to  it,  parents  compel  discipline.  Some 
compulsion  in  learning  the  things  of  the  spirit  would 
not  harm  a  child.  A  grown  man  must  choose  for 
himself  those  means  of  information,  inspiration,  and 
growth  which  experience  has  proved  to  be  helpful. 

Prayer,  public  worship,  and  sacred  music;  such 
familiarity  with  the  New  Testament  as  will  saturate 


Neglect  197 


the  mind  with  its  truth  and  spirit;  the  habit  of 
thinking  of  God  and  of  relating  Him  in  thought 
with  the  course  of  one's  life;  the  companionship  of 
devout  persons;  voluntary  choice  day  by  day  of 
such  feelings  and  acts  as  are  like  the  feelings  and 
acts  of  Jesus;  cultivation  of  a  spirit  of  aspiration 
after  better  things ;  participation  in  movements 
which  have  for  their  purpose  the  moral  and  spiritual 
improvement  of  mankind, — all  tend  to  cultivate  a 
spiritual  and  religious  character.  The  daily  habit 
of  reverence  toward  God,  of  thoughtfulness  toward 
men,  of  a  disposition  to  fulfill  the  labor  of  each  day 
in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  "who  went  about  doing  good," 
and  consecration  of  the  will  to  the  service  of  God, — 
all  tend  to  educate  the  character  and  to  make  it  com- 
plete in  holiness.  The  man  who  uses  these  means 
will  not  fail  to  receive  power,  to  gain  in  faith  and 
love,  and  to  grow  in  grace  until  he  becomes  a  perfect 
man  in  Christ. 

The  wilful  neglect  of  any  of  these  means  of  good, 
will  result  in  the  loss  of  power  of  good.  The 
neglect  of  all  of  them  will  result  in  the  loss  of  the 
desire  of  goodness.  Neglect  of  prayer  is  followed 
by  forgetfulness  of  God ;  neglect  of  public  worship 
increases  the  spirit  of  self-indulgence;  neglect  of 
familiarity  with  the  New  Testament  leaves  the  mind 
in  the  common  habits  of  thought  which  pertain  to  a 
worldly  life;  neglect  of  cherishing  voluntarily  a 
Christian  disposition  is  followed  by  a  lax  and  morally 
weakened  tone  of  mind ;  neglect  of  participating  in 
efforts  to  make  the  world  better,  leaves  a  soul  grow- 
ing indifferent  to  the  highest  welfare  of  mankind 


198  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  increasingly  self-seeking  and  worldly.  The 
heart  in  which  love  does  not  glow,  will  become  a 
heart  chilled  into  lovelessness. 

Demas  deserted  Saint  Paul  because  he  loved  this 
present  world.  Any  man  who  falls  away  from  the 
worship  of  God  and  from  conscious  work  for  Him, 
if  he  will  candidly  trace  his  course,  will  probably 
note  the  fact  that  his  departure  began  in  some 
neglect.  Some  duty  neglected,  left  him  more 
inclined  to  place  self  first  in  his  own  affections; 
some  means  of  grace  neglected  left  him  more  self- 
indulgent;  some  failure  to  coooperate  in  carrying 
on  the  kingdom  of  God,  made  more  easy  over  him 
the  domination  of  the  world ;  the  neglect  of  the 
things  of  the  spirit,  let  him  sink  gradually  into  sub- 
jection to  the  things  of  the  flesh.  Neglect  of  good 
submerges  a  man  in  the  kingdom  of  evil.  And  the 
man  who  never  has  risen,  if  he  could  discover  the 
cause  of  his  decline  to  lower  and  lower  moral  states, 
would  discover  the  source  of  his  fall  in  a  prior  re- 
fusal to  rise. 

The  greater  part  of  the  things  for  which  men 
to-day  neglect  the  cultivation  of  the  soul,  are  not 
bad  in  themselves.  Some  of  them  are  good.  But 
for  sake  of  what  is  relatively  good,  men  may  lose 
what  is  better;  and  for  things  good,  men  may  lose 
things  which  are  best.  For  example,  physical  ex- 
ercise and  the  joy  of  motion  in  space  are  in  them- 
selves good,  if  not  carried  to  the  point  of  dissipa- 
tion ;  but  they  minister  mainly  to  the  body,  and  but 
incidentally  to  the  mind ;  they  have  no  ministry  for 
the  soul.     The  pleasure  of  entertainment  whether 


Neglect  199 


by  pictures,  plays,  or  social  fellowship  may  be  inno- 
cent in  themselves ;  but  they  serve  merely  to  divert 
from  serious  thought  and  toil;  they  lead  for  a  time 
to  forgetfulness  of  the  things  which  make  life  a  bur- 
den; they  give  a  certain  relaxation  and  relief,  and 
so  far  forth  are  good;  but  they  add  no  solid  gain 
to  a  man's  powers.  Mere  rest,  whether  of  body  or 
of  mind,  may  renew,  but  cannot  increase  strength. 
Inspiration  increases  strength. 

The  strength  of  a  man  is  primarily  in  his  soul. 
Faith,  love,  aspiration,  and  hope  are  real  power.  Let  a 
man  compare  his  strength  when  hopeless  with  his 
strength  when  some  great  hope  fills  his  soul.  Let 
a  man  compare  his  strength  when  he  is  in  doubt,  or 
in  fear,  with  his  strength  when  some  great  faith 
possesses  him.  Let  a  man  compare  his  strength 
when  he  feels  unloved,  or  when  he  is  without  love, 
with  his  strength  when  he  is  conscious  of  being  de- 
votedly loved,  or  when  he  ardently  loves  some  one 
for  whom  he  would  even  die;  and  he  will  know 
the  power  of  love  to  make  strong.  The  hope  of  fu- 
ture good,  though  that  good  can  be  obtained  only  by 
self-denial  and  hard  toil,  makes  a  man  strong  in 
courage,  fortitude,  and  patience.  These  are  facts 
which  any  man  may  verify  in  his  own  experience. 

Now  the  faith,  hope,  and  love  which  Christianity 
gives  to  a  believing  man  have  power  beyond  any 
thing  else  to  hearten,  comfort,  sustain,  and  cheer  the 
souls  of  men.  These  give  true  success  in  life.  "Hast 
thou  not  known?  hast  thou  not  heard,  that  the  ever- 
lasting God,  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  fainteth  not,  neither  is  weary?     He  giv- 


200  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

eth  power  to  the  faint ;  and  to  them  who  have  no 
might  He  increaseth  strength.  Even  the  youths 
shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young  men  shall 
utterly  fall.  But  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall  mount  up 
with  wings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run,  and  not  be 
weary;   and  they  shall  walk,  and  not  faint." 

Men  may  endure  much  hardship  because  they 
cannot  escape  it;  but  only  a  believing  man  can 
write,  "We  glory  in  tribulations."  A  Christian 
man  can  write  thus,  because  he  can  also  write,  "We 
faint  not;  though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the 
inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day.  For  our  light 
affliction  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for 
us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ; 
while  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but 
at  the  things  which  are  not  seen :  for  the  things 
which  are  seen  are  temporal;  but  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  are  eternal." 

This  is  a  matter  of  personal  experience.  One 
may  test  the  truth  of  it  here  and  now.  The  charac- 
ter and  works  of  them  who  truly  believe,  testify  to 
its  reality.     Any  man  may  prove  it  for  himself. 

The  sad  thing  in  life  to-day,  and  life's  greatest 
tragedy,  lies  in  the  fact  that  for  sake  of  things  which 
in  relation  to  the  bodies  of  men  are  good,  many  neg- 
lect the  higher  things  which  minister  to  the  spirit 
and  which  are  best.  They  drink  only  at  earthly 
fountains.  They  eat  only  bread  which  springs  from 
the  ground.  They  wait  only  on  the  ministry  of  men 
for  amusement  and  for  rest.  They  enjoy  only  the 
things  which  are  from  beneath.    What  will  it  profit 


Neglect  201 


them  if  they  gain  the  whole  world  and,  by  neglect, 
lose  their  own  life?  When  physical  energy  wanes, 
when  mental  vigor  declines,  when  the  things  which 
feed  the  body  fail,  when  men  can  no  longer  enter- 
tain or  amuse  or  instruct;  what  remains  to  sustain 
life?  It  stands  written  and  men  should  read  and 
heed,  "The  world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust  there- 
of: but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  for- 
ever." 


CHAPTER  XII 

Eternal  Life 

T  F  a  man  die,  shall  he  live?"  is  an  ancient  ques- 
-*■  tion.  If  a  man  die  should  he  live?  is  a  modern 
question.  Scientific  biology  has  disclosed  the  fact 
that  all  life  in  this  world  is  conditioned.  The  law 
of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  has  declared  the  fact 
that  only  a  living  being  which  fulfils  the  conditions 
of  growth  and  perfection  is  deemed,  by  nature, 
worthy  of  continuance.  These  facts  suggest  two 
questions.  The  first  is  this,  Is  man  an  exception  to 
this  law  of  biology?  The  second  is  this,  Is  eternal 
life,  irrespective  of  the  character  and  condition  of 
that  which  lives,  a  boon  to  be  desired? 

In  an  attempt  to  answer  such  questions,  a  man 
who  feels  the  limitations  of  his  vision  and  of  his 
knowledge,  must  speak  with  becoming  modesty. 
Nevertheless,  the  man  who  has  the  spirit  of  a  seer 
and  who  looks  upon  the  world  with  open  eyes,  must 
report  what  he  sees;  and  the  man  who  has  the 
mind  of  a  disciple  and  who  listens  with  open  ears  to 
the  words  of  Jesus,  must  report  what  he  hears. 

The  seer  who  with  open  eye,  clear  vision,  and 
keen  insight  looks  upon  the  world  of  animate  things, 
must  see  that  every  living  thing,  physical,  mental, 
spiritual,  which  does  not  fulfill  the  conditions  of 
growth,  development,  and  perfection,  degenerates, 
decays,  and  dies ;  that  which  fulfils  the  conditions  of 
202 


Eternal  Life  203 


growth,  development,  and  perfection,  of  its  kind, 
continues  to  live  to  the  full  limit  of  its  possible  dur- 
ation. We  may  say,  in  the  world  of  nature,  the  liv- 
ing thing  which  believes — that  is,  receives — feeds — 
that  is,  appropriates — and  works — that  is,  exerts  its 
powers  normally — lives ;  and  that  which  does  not  re- 
ceive, feed,  and  work — dies.  This  is  the  law  of 
nature.  Nature  is  the  expression  of  the  mind  and 
will  of  God. 

The  disciple,  who  listens  to  the  words  of  Jesus, 
must  hear  him  say,  "I  came  that  they  may  have  life, 
and  may  have  it  abundantly."  "I  am  bread  of 
life."  "He  that  believeth  hath  eternal  life."  "He 
that  heareth  My  word,  and  believeth  Him  that  sent 
Me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  cometh  not  into  judg- 
ment, but  hath  passed  out  of  death  into  life." 

Obviously,  also,  as  specifically  stated  in  the  New 
Testament,  "He  that  believeth  not  hath  been  judged 
already."  He  is  under  condemnation.  He  remains 
in  a  state  and  under  a  law  whose  issue  is  death. 
"Sin  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death." 

According  to  Jesus,  eternal  life  is  first  of  all  a 
kind  and  quality  of  life  which  may  exist  here  and 
now.  It  is  a  present  possession.  It  is  a  life  which, 
by  faith,  feeds  upon  God;  which,  by  love,  fulfills 
the  will  of  God ;  which  glows,  in  beauty,  with  a  cer- 
tain divine  glory.  It  is  a  life,  therefore,  which  has 
the  quality  of  continuance,  and  which  deserves  im- 
mortality. 

To  the  disciple,  the  words  of  Jesus  are  a  final 
authority.  Jesus  surprised  and  startled  men  by 
His  use  of  paradox.     What  He  said  seemed  to  con- 


204  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

tradict  what  they  saw.  What  He  promised,  seemed 
to  them  opposed  to  their  experience. 

For  example,  their  Proverbs  which  garnered  the 
practical  knowledge  of  the  ages,  taught  that  if  a 
man  honors  the  Lord,  his  barns  shall  be  filled  with 
plenty  and  his  presses  shall  overflow  with  new  wine. 
But  Jesus  lifted  up  his  eyes,  looked  upon  men  and 
said,  "Blessed  be  ye  poor:  for  yours  is  the  king- 
dom of  God."  Jesus  said,  "A  man's  life  consisteth 
not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  pos- 
sesseth."  Men  had  been  taught  to  have  special  re- 
gard to  the  means  of  securing  prosperity,  and  so 
saving  their  life.  Jesus  said,  "Whosoever  will  save 
his  life  shall  lose  it:  and  whosoever  will  lose  his 
life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it."  Jesus  said  that 
not  outward  possessions  but  inward  state,  decided  a 
man's  security  and  determined  his  destiny. 

Jesus  saw  only  two  great  passions  and  principles 
of  character  and  conduct.  These  are  selfishness  and 
love.  According  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  all  sins 
are  rooted  in  the  former;  all  righteousness  springs 
from  the  latter.  According  to  Jesus,  selfishness  seeks 
to  gather  abundance  for  self.  It  fails  to  see  that  life  is 
more  than  meat  and  more  than  raiment.  Selfishness 
separates  a  man  from  God.  If  selfishness  acknowl- 
edges God  at  all,  it  desires  Him  only  as  a  servant 
who  may  minister  things  for  the  increase  of  wealth 
and  grant  pleasures  for  personal  enjoyment.  Selfish- 
ness separates  a  man  from  other  men.  Selfishness 
causes  a  man  to  make  use  of  other  men  only  for  his 
own  pleasure  and  profit.  Selfishness  means  separa- 
tion, for  it  withdraws  a  man  from  God.     Selfishness 


Eternal  Life  205 


means  starvation,  for  a  man  cannot  live  upon  things. 
Selfishness  means  strangulation,  for  a  soul  may  be 
smothered  by  the  abundance  of  the  things  which 
have  been  gathered.  Therefore,  Jesus  asks  the 
pertinent  question :  "What  shall  a  man  be  profited, 
if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  life?" 

According  to  Jesus,  love  is  self-forgetful,  self- 
denying,  and  serviceable.  Love,  therefore,  is  the 
one  passion  and  the  one  principle  by  which  Jesus 
is  sure  that  men  belong  to  His  kingdom.  Jesus  jus- 
tified His  forgiveness  and  reception  of  a  sinful  wo- 
man "because  she  loved  much."  Faith,  Jesus  said, 
saved  her;  but  love  was  the  evidence  of  that  faith. 
Jesus  said,  "If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my 
words:  and  My  Father  will  love  him."  Jesus  says 
that  in  the  final  judgment  of  men,  He  will  welcome 
into  His  kingdom  all  who  have  shown  a  heart  of 
love  by  their  gifts  of  bread,  clothing,  visitation,  and 
ministry.  According  to  Jesus,  sinners  are  forgiven, 
saints  are  trusted,  and  men  are  eternally  rewarded 
on  the  basis  of  love. 

No  life,  therefore,  seems  to  Jesus  to  be  a  success, 
whatever  may  be  the  place  and  the  wealth  and  the 
pleasure  which  it  has  gained,  if  in  gaining  those 
things,  love  has  been  strangled  or  smothered  or  lost. 
What  will  the  things  gained  profit,  if  the  life  is 
lost?  It  stands  written  in  nature,  in  human  life, 
and  in  the  sacred  scriptures,  "He  that  loveth  not 
abideth  in  death."  It  stands  also  written,  "He  that 
abideth  in  love,  abideth  in  God,  and  God  abideth 
in  him."  That  is  to  say,  the  loveless  man  lives  in 
the  sphere  of  things  which  are  transient  and  which 


2o6  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

pass  away.  The  loving  man  lives  in  the  sphere  of 
things  eternal,  which  endure. 

"The  wages" — the  natural  reward — "of  sin  is 
death ;  but  the  free  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  in 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

Nothing  could  be  more  simple,  direct,  and  intel- 
ligible than  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  His  disciples 
with  respect  to  the  consequences  of  unbelief  and 
faith,  selfishness  and  love,  sin  and  righteousness.  The 
end,  in  the  one  case,  is  death ;  the  end  in  the  other 
case,  is  life.  No  words  and  no  facts  are  more  sharp- 
ly contrasted  and  more  easily  understood  than  death 
and  life. 

The  Christian  church,  as  an  organization,  long 
since  departed  from  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  The 
church  long  since  adopted  a  human  philosophy  of 
the  nature  of  man,  and  claimed  for  man  immortality 
by  virtue  of  his  being  man.  Happiness  and  misery, 
pleasure  and  pain,  triumph  in  glory,  and  torture  in 
fire,  have  been  taught  by  the  church  as  the  reward 
of  righteousness,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other, 
as  the  penalty  of  sin.  Some  portions  of  the  church 
latterly  have  turned  the  fire  to  a  figure,  but  to  a 
figure  not  of  cleansing  or  of  destruction — the  two 
things  which  fire  will  do — but  to  a  figure  of  tor- 
ture. Some  portions  of  the  church  now  are  simply 
silent  on  the  subject. 

An  opinion  which  has  been  held  by  a  large 
body  of  men  and  current  for  many  years,  should 
be  treated  with  respect  and  deemed  worthy  of 
candid  consideration.  An  opinion  long  prevalent 
should  not  be  rejected  without  sufficient  reason. 


Eternal  Life  207 


An  opinion,  however,  let  it  be  remembered,  often 
has  been  formed  by  unobservant  and  unscientific 
men,  and,  once  formed,  has  been  held  because  it  is 
an  accepted  opinion.  An  opinion,  also,  sometimes 
has  been  accepted  because  of  the  authority  of  some 
great  man  who  has  endorsed  it.  But  the  several 
opinions  of  a  great  man  are  not  all  equally  worthy 
of  credence.  For  example,  for  a  thousand  years  or 
more,  the  name  of  Augustine  gave  authority  to  any- 
thing which  he  taught,  although — great  thinker 
though  he  was — some  of  his  teachings  set  in  the  light 
of  modern  scientific  knowledge  are  altogether  false. 
An  opinion  often  is  held  because  it  has  been  instilled 
into  the  mind  in  childhood  and  is  retained  without 
investigation  and  without  evidence.  This  has  been 
true  of  doctrines  of  the  church,  the  questioning  of 
which  has  been  regarded  in  some  quarters  as  denial 
of  truth  itself.  I  have  known  ministers  to  affirm 
that  they  would  continue  to  teach  what  is  most  ob- 
viously false,  because  they  had  been  taught  it  and 
had  themselves  taught  it.  This  illustrates  the  habit 
of  an  unscientific  and  unthinking  mind.  Such  a 
mind  is  parrot-like,  repeating  what  it  has  been  told. 
I  have  great  respect  for  the  Christian  ministry; 
but,  in  candor,  I  must  say  that  it  contains  some 
minds  like  this. 

An  opinion  which  has  come  to  be  accepted  by  the 
majority  of  men  in  any  country,  is  held  without 
question  by  most  persons ;  for  most  persons,  do  not 
think.  For  example,  the  Ptolemaic  theory  of  the 
solar  system  was  long  current  and  concurred  with 
the   superficial    observation    of    men   who   did    not 


2o8  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

think,  but  that  theory  was  entirely  false.  Men  long 
held  the  opinion  that  the  earth  and  the  heavens  were 
created  in  six  days  of  twenty-four  hours  each,  be- 
cause the  writer  of  tho  book  of  Genesis,  in  giving 
a  pictorial  account  of  creation,  described  it  as  made 
in  six  days.  It  is  known,  now,  that  this  account 
of  creation  is  not  a  scientific  treatise  and  that  the 
earth  was  produced  by  a  long  process. 

In  an  old  bible  in  the  Congressional  Library  in 
Washington,  I  saw  a  picture  of  the  creation  of  Eve 
which  was  drawn  according  to  the  ideas  of  the 
artist.  The  Creator  was  shaping  Eve,  mechanic- 
ally, as  a  sculptor  might  mold  in  clay,  and  drawing 
the  body  gradually  from  the  side  of  Adam.  For  a 
long  time,  the  creation  of  man  was  considered  a  me- 
chanical formation  of  the  human  body,  which  being 
formed  was,  then,  infused  with  life.  Men  who  be- 
lieved this,  neither  saw  nor  thought  scientifically,  or 
they  would  have  seen  and  would  have  known  that 
God  is  continually  making  bodies,  and  that  no  body 
of  any  living  thing,  from  the  daintiest  flower  to  the 
largest  tree,  from  the  tiniest  insect  to  the  most  per- 
fect man,  is  ever  made  save  by  a  force  of  life  which 
in  seed  or  germ  weaves  and  fashions  every  part 
from   within. 

The  habit  of  mind  which  prevailed  in  the  world 
until  late  years  was  not  scientific.  Men,  generally, 
did  not  look  patiently  upon  actual  processes  and 
did  not  form  opinions  slowly  from  the  data^of  facts. 
Most  men  accepted  things  as  they  seemed  to  be 
on  first  view.  Men  were  superficial  in  matters  of 
physical  science,  and  superstitious  in  matters  of  re- 


Eternal  Life  209 


ligion.  Men  read  the  letter  of  the  scriptures,  and 
often  failed  to  perceive  the  spirit.  Hence,  the 
theory  that  the  sun  revolves  around  the  earth  w^as 
accepted  because  it  looked  that  way.  The  theory 
that  physical  death  is  the  penalty  of  sin  was  held,  be- 
cause the  scriptures  say  that  Adam  was  told  that  if 
he  ate  forbidden  fruit,  he  would  die.  With  such 
a  habit  of  mind,  opinions  were  accepted  and  held, 
which  with  the  habit  of  tracing  consequences 
to  their  cause  and  in  the  clear  light  of 
scientific  knowledge,  cannot  be  believed.  Mod- 
ern men,  while  retaining  faith  in  the  spirit  of  much 
ancient  doctrine,  must  reject  its  letter.  The  mod- 
ern man  unavoidably  asks,  "What  is  God  actually 
doing  in  the  world?"  He  also  asks,  "What  do  the 
scriptures  which  speak  for  God  say  and  mean?" 

The  natural  immortality  of  man  has  been  taught 
in  the  church  since  the  third  and  fourth  centuries 
of  the  Christian  era.  At  that  time,  men  who  had 
been  educated  in  Greek  philosophy  and  trained  in 
Roman  law,  became  the  leaders  of  Christian 
thought.  Many  facts  of  life  were  quietly  ignored. 
The  scriptures  were  interpreted  by  men  who  ap- 
proached them  by  a  preconceived  philosophy  of  the 
nature  of  man.  The  terms,  life  and  death,  than 
which  no  two  words  could  be  of  plainer  meaning 
and  no  two  states  more  vividly  contrasted,  were 
interpreted  as  merely  figurative  modes  of  expression 
and,  in  respect  of  the  soul,  spiritual  states.  Their 
teaching  came  at  length  to  be  the  common  opinion 
of  the  church.  The  truth  of  that  opinion  may  well 
be  questioned  at  the  present  time.     It  is  certainly 


2IO  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

well  to  observe  what  science  sees  and  to  listen  to 
what  the  scriptures  say. 

Scientific  men  who  study  man  as  an  animal  of 
the  order  mammalia,  do  not  find  in  his  natural  con- 
stitution evidence  of  immortality.  The  feeling  that 
one  canot  die,  of  which  some  speak,  if  examined 
closely,  will  be  seen  to  be  simply  the  feeling  which 
a  living  creature  when  full  of  life  has,  namely,  a 
sense  of  living.  The  living  thing  when  full  of  its 
natural  power,  cannot  conceive  of  itself  as  dead.  But 
when  physical  and  mental  strength  both  are  fast 
ebbing  away,  one  can  conceive  of  himself  as  dying. 
Any  argument  for  the  natural  immortality  of  man 
— as  man — from  the  unity  of  his  life  and  the  indis- 
solubility of  his  soul,  could  be  used  with  equal  pro- 
priety to  prove  the  natural  immortality  of  any  ani- 
mal with  power  of  affection,  memory,  and  volition. 

Certain  philosophers,  also,  who  have  studied  man 
in  his  mental  and  moral  nature,  confess  that  by 
virtue  of  his  failure  to  conform  to  the  conditions 
by  which  souls  live  or  to  set  himself  in  right  rela- 
tion to  society,  man  may  die.  Immanuel  Kant  says, 
"The  soul  may  cease  to  be  by  inanition,"  by  fading 
out  as  the  flame  of  a  lamp  fades  from  want  of  oil. 
A  later  philosopher,  Hermann  Lotze,  says,  **In- 
destructibility  would  include,  not  merely  immor- 
tality after  death,  but  also  unending  pre-existence 
before  the  present  life;  and  with  the  latter,  we 
neither  know  how  to  make  a  beginning,  nor  do  we 
find  in  our  experience  any  evidence  for  such  a  pre- 
vious life."  Lotze  also  says,  "Touching  immortal- 
ity, in  general  we  simply  hold  the  principle  to  be 


Eternal  Life  2ii 


valid  that  everything  which  has  once  originated  will 
endure  forever,  as  soon  as  it  possesses  an  unalterable 
value  for  the  coherent  system  of  the  world ;  but  it 
will,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  turn  cease  to  be,  if 
this  is  not  the  case."  The  immortality  of  any  crea- 
ture cannot  be  considered  simply  by  seeing  that  crea- 
ture in  itself,  but  in  seeing  it  in  its  relation  to  a  sys- 
tem and  a  universe  of  which  it  is  a  part. 

Scientific  men  and  philosophers  who  see  clearly 
the  limitations  of  development  and  of  continuance 
on  the  physical  side,  and  who  see  also  the  unmeas- 
ured possibilities  on  the  moral  side,  conclude  that 
any  further  gain  to  be  made  in  the  animal  creation, 
must  be  along  moral  lines.  They  admit  the  need  of 
immortality  to  complete  what  seems  to  be,  now, 
great  incompleteness  both  on  the  part  of  the  individ- 
ual and  on  the  part  of  human  society.  Certain 
scientists,  like  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  and  others,  hope 
to  be  able  through  psychical  research  to  find  proof 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  With  them,  how- 
ever, as  with  all  men,  belief  in  immortality  must  be 
a  matter  of  faith  and  hope. 

If  we  turn  to  the  sacred  scriptures  which  record 
the  revelation  of  the  character  of  God  and  of  his 
will  respecting  man  and  which  record,  also,  the  life 
and  resurrection  of  one  called  the  Son  of  Man,  who 
conquered  death  and  who  brought  life  and  immortal- 
ity to  light;  certain  facts  appear  to  him  who  will 
see. 

The  first  fact  which  appears  in  the  scriptures  is, 
that  touching  immortality,  most  of  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  silent.     In  the  account  of  the 


212  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

creation  of  man  given  in  Genesis,  it  is  said,  God 
breathed  into  man's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  (He- 
brew lives)  and  man  became  a  living  soul.  Ac- 
cording to  this  ancient  account  of  creation,  man's 
life,  like  all  life,  was  conditioned.  Two  trees  grew 
in  man's  garden.  The  fruit  of  one  tree  was  the 
symbol  of  life.  The  fruit  of  the  other  tree  was  the 
symbol  of  death.  Man  was  given  the  choice  of  the 
way  of  life  or  of  the  way  of  death.  He  had  access 
to  both  trees  and  power  to  eat  the  fruit  of  them ; 
but  he  was  forbidden  to  eat  the  fruit  of  one  tree 
through  which  would  come  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil.  Obedience  or  disobedience  was  left  to  his 
own  free  choice.  Man  could  follow  the  way  of 
faith  or  the  way  of  unbelief,  the  way  of  obedience 
or  the  way  of  disobedience;  he  could  go  up  or  fall 
down;  he  could  live  or  he  could  die.  Life  and 
death  were  possibilities. 

The  death  threatened  was  more  than  physical 
death.  Physical  death  was  in  the  world  before  the 
advent  of  man.  Physical  death  is  part  of  the  order 
of  nature  and  not  the  penalty  of  sin.  In  a  world 
where  animals  propagate  rapidly,  as  on  the  earth, 
death  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  order,  or  life  could 
not  be  sustained.  The  physical  constitution  of  man 
in  all  his  organs  and  in  the  injuries  and  diseases  to 
which  he  is  exposed,  is  precisely  the  same  as  the  con- 
stitution of  the  higher  animals.  If  they  naturally 
die,  so  must  man — as  man — die.  What  is  threat- 
ened as  the  penalty  of  unbelief  and  disobedi- 
ence is  a  second  death.  "In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."     The  Hebrew  words 


Eternal  Life  213 

are  more  suggestive  of  the  truth.  Literally,  these 
are,  "Dying  thou  shalt  die."  Disobedience  would 
be  followed  by  a  process  of  decline  which  would  is- 
sue in  death.  The  death  threatened  is  greater  than 
physical  death.  "Thou  shalt  die."  The  matter  is 
left  with  this  simple  but  significant  statement.  The 
story  of  the  temptation  and  fall  of  man  is  the  most 
suggestive  of  possible  immortality  of  anything  found 
in  the  earlier  part  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  promises  of  the  laws  of  Moses  and  of  the 
Levitical  code  relate  to  the  present  world.  Obedi- 
ence to  the  law  would  issue  in  health,  prosperity, 
and  long  life.  Disobedience  to  the  law  would 
issue  in  disease,  adversity,  and  premature  death. 
The  law  knew  nothing  of  future  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments. The  horizon  of  the  earthly  life  was  the 
boundary  of  knowledge. 

In  the  historical  portion  of  the  Old  Testament, 
the  man  who  died,  slept  with  his  fathers ;  if  fortun- 
ate, he  was  buried  in  the  sepulcher  of  his  fathers. 
Dust  slept  with  kindred  dust,  and  no  light  was  cast 
beyond  the  grave. 

In  the  poetical  and  prophetical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  a  few  brief  passages  express  a  hope  of 
immortality.  In  the  book  of  Job,  in  the  nineteenth 
chapter.  Job  expresses  his  hope  by  saying,  "I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  will  stand  upon  the 
earth,  and  after  my  skin  is  destroyed,  then  without 
my  flesh  shall  I  see  God."  In  the  sixteenth  psalm, 
the  tenth  verse,  the  psalmist  voices  his  hope  in  the 
saying,  "Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  to  Sheol; 
neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  holy  one  to  see  corrup- 


214  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

tion.  Thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life ;  in  Thy 
presence  is  fulness  of  joj^ ;  in  Thy  right  hand  there 
are  pleasures  forevermore."  In  the  book  of  Daniel, 
the  twelfth  chapter,  it  is  written:  "And  many  of 
them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake, 
sortie  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  ever- 
lasting contempt." 

There  is  also  a  suggestive  passage  in  the  last  book 
of  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Malachi,  there  is  a  striking  indication  of  the  final 
difference  to  be  made  between  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked.  A  day  will  come  in  which  there  will  be 
discernment  "between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked, 
between  him  that  serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth 
Him  not."  To  the  former,  that  day  will  be  like 
the  light  of  the  sun,  healing,  and  life-giving.  To 
the  latter  it  will  be  "as  a  furnace  of  fire"  which  will 
consume  them  as  stubble,  and,  like  worthless  trees, 
burning  them  up  "root  and  branch."  This  is  prac- 
tically all  the  light  cast  by  the  Old  Testament  upon 
the  future  of  man. 

The  second  fact  to  be  noticed  is  that  the  teachings 
of  the  New  Testament  on  the  subject  of  immortality 
are  clear,  quite  consistent,  concise  and  conclusive. 
By  the  time  of  Jesus  the  Jews  held  a  clearer  concep- 
tion and  a  firmer  faith  in  a  future  life  than  had  been 
held  in  an  earlier  period.  Jesus,  as  was  His  wont, 
cast  His  teachings  in  language  and  in  literary  form 
which  would  be  intelligible  to  the  men  of  His  times. 
Their  conceptions  and  their  figures  of  speech  gave 
form  and  color  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  but  the  es- 
sence of  the  teaching  was  His  own.     The  teaching 


Eternal  Life  215 


of  Jesus  as  we  shall  see,  is  explicit. 

There  are  four  great  facts  touching  immortality 
stated  in  the  New  Testament.  The  first  fact  is 
this:  'God  only  hath  immortality."  (I.  Timothy 
6:16).  The  entire  passage  show^s  that  the  affirma- 
tion is  made  of  God  the  Father  who  alone  hath 
immortality.  He  is  the  eternal  and  self-existent 
One.  the  Possessor  and  the  Giver  of  life. 

The  second  fact  is  this:  "As  the  Father  hath 
life  in  Himself,  even  so  gave  He  to  the  Son  also 
to  have  life  in  Himself."  (John  5:26).  It  should 
be  noticed  here  that  even  in  the  case  of  the  Son,  life 
is  the  gift  of  the  Father. 

The  third  fact  is  this:  God  having  given  life  to 
the  Son,  has  made  that  Son  to  be  the  giver  of  life  to 
men.  This  Jesus  clearly  affirms.  "For  as  the 
Father  raiseth  the  dead  and  giveth  them  life,  even 
so  the  Son  also  giveth  life  to  whom  He  will." 
(John  5:21).  Jesus  says  of  Himself:  "I  am  the 
life."  "I  came  that  they  may  have  life."  "I  am 
the  resurrection  and  the  life:  he  that  believeth  on 
me  though  he  die,  yet  shall  he  live."  In  the  six- 
teenth verse  of  the  third  chapter  of  the  gospel  by 
John  is  found  that  greatest  of  all  gospel  declara- 
tions: "God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  It  should 
be  noted  that  the  contrast  here  is  between  perishing 
and  eternal  life. 

The  fourth  fact  is  this:  eternal  life  is  not  the 
natural  possession  of  man,  but  the  gracious  gift  of 
God.     In  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 


2i6  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

mans,  it  is  said:  ''The  wages  of  sin  is  death;  but 
the  free  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."  Here  the  contrast  is  between  opsonia, 
wages,  a  merited  or  natural  consequence  and  re- 
ward, and  charis?na,  a  gift  of  grace,  free  and  un- 
merited. 

Could  anything  be  more  plain  than  these  four 
statements?  "God  only  hath  immortality."  "God 
hath  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself." 
"God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  Son  that 
whosoever  believeth  m  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life."  "The  wages" — the  natural  re- 
sult— "of  sin  is  death ;  but  the  free  gift  of  God  is 
eternal  life." 

It  should  be  noticed  that  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
and  the  apostles  are  along  this  line  always.  Jesus 
claims  for  Himself  that  He  is  "life,"  and  "living 
bread,"  and  the  giver  of  "living  water,"  and  "the 
resurrection  and  the  life,"  in  whom,  if  a  man  be- 
lieves, he  shall  live  forever.  In  vain  would  we 
search  through  the  words  of  Jesus  to  find  any  pas- 
sage where  He  teaches  that  He  came  to  deliver  men 
from  misery  and  confer  upon  them  happiness.  Sin 
and  death  are  the  things  from  which  Jesus  saves 
men.  Love  and  life  are  the  things  for  which  He 
saves  them. 

The  apostles  teach  the  same  truth.  In  the  con- 
clusion of  the  gospel  according  to  John,  it  stands 
written:  "These"  (the  things  selected  and  placed 
in  this  book)  "are  written  that  ye  may  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believ- 
ing ye  may  have  life  in  His  name."     And  in  his 


Eternal  Life  217 


first  epistle  John  says,  ''And  this  is  the  record,  that 
God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in 
His  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life;  and  he 
that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,  hath  not  life." 

Saint  Peter,  likewise,  in  his  first  letter,  gives 
thanks  to  "the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who,  according  to  His  abundant  mercy,  hath 
begotten  us  again  unto  a  living  hope  by  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance 
incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by 
the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation 
ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time."  Evidently 
this  hope  of  immortality  was  given  to  Peter  in 
Christ.  It  was  given  him  through  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus.  He  did  not  hold  this  glorious  hope  as  a 
man,  but  as  a  Christian  man. 

Saint  Paul,  speaking  of  the  divine  economy  em- 
bracing all  dispensations  says,  "God,  who  will  ren- 
der to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds,"  will  give 
"to  them  who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing 
seek  for  glory  and  honor  and  immortality,  eternal 
life."  (Romans  2:6-7).  This  eternal  life,  accord- 
ing to  Paul,  is  not  the  natural  possession  of  men  but 
is  given  as  a  result  of  their  seeking  it.  Eternal 
life  is  a  possibility;  it  may  become  an  actuality  by 
faith.  Again,  Saint  Paul  says,  in  speaking  of  the 
resurrection:  "Flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on 
incorruption,  and  the  mortal  must  put  on  immor- 
tality. So  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on 
incorruption,    and    this   mortal   shall  have   put   on 


2i8  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

immortality,  then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  say- 
ing, 'Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.'  " 

Why  multiply  passages?  The  words  of  Jesus 
and  John  and  Peter  and  Paul  are  concise  and  con- 
clusive. Only  a  preconceived  opinion  of  the  na- 
ture of  man  which  blinded  the  mind  to  the  natural 
meaning  of  the  words  of  scripture  and  which  forced 
a  figurative  meaning  upon  the  plainest  of  words 
could  have  kept  the  church  in  ignorance  of  the  truth. 
As  light  is  colored  by  the  glass  through  which  it 
streams  taking  the  colors  of  the  windows  of  a  cathe- 
dral which  it  floods,  so  divine  truth  is  affected  by 
the  preconceived  opinions  of  minds  into  which  it  en- 
ters. But  as  minds  become  open  and  clear,  truth 
is  seen  in  its  clear  white  light.  Only  unwilling- 
ness to  see  the  truth  can  hold  the  minds  of  men  to 
ancient  falsehood. 

Jesus  was  accustomed  to  teach  the  people  in  para- 
bles. A  parable  is  a  picture  or  story  wherein,  by 
things  known,  men  are  given  some  knowledge  of 
things  hitherto  unknown.  A  parable  by  its  nature 
is  designed  especially  for  the  instruction  of  un- 
spiritual  men.  Jesus  says,  "Here  is  something 
which  you  know.  Now  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
like  this"  A  parable  usually  is  intended  to  teach 
just  one  thing  and  should  not  be  pressed  beyond  its 
natural  meaning.  It  has  been  said  that  a  parable 
and  what  it  is  intended  to  illustrate,  are  like  two 
globes  which  touch  only  at  one  point. 

In  the  several  parables  recorded  in  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  the  gospel  of  Matthew,  there  are  two 
which  reach  to  the  final  judgment  of  men.     These 


Eternal  Life  219 


are  the  parable  of  The  Wheat  and  Tares  and  the 
parable  of  The  Net  and  Fishes.  In  the  harvest, 
wheat  and  tares  are  separated.  Wheat  is  for  the 
garner;  tares  are  for  the  burning.  Jesus  says,  "As, 
therefore,  the  tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in  the 
fire,  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  the  world.  The 
Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  His  angels,  and  they 
shall  gather  out  of  His  kingdom  all  things  that 
offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast 
them  into  a  furnace  of  fire.  Then  shall  the 
righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Father." 

So  likewise,  when  the  net  was  brought  to  shore, 
the  good  fish  were  gathered  into  vessels,  the  bad 
were  cast  away.  Jesus  says,  "So  shall  it  be  in  the 
end  of  the  world:  the  angels  shall  come  forth,  and 
sever  the  wicked  from  among  the  righteous,  and 
shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire."  Ob- 
viously, fire  is  not  for  torment  but  for  destruction, 
and  destruction  is  based  on  worthlessness. 

Four  other  parables  of  judgment  are  recorded  in 
the  gospels.  In  the  parable  of  The  Ten  Virgins, 
the  five  foolish  virgins  who  took  no  oil  and  who 
were  late,  were  excluded  from  the  marriage  cele- 
bration. In  the  parable  of  The  Talents,  the  man 
who  wrapped  his  talent  in  a  napkin  and  made  no 
gain  was  deprived  of  his  talent.  In  the  parable 
of  The  Ten  Pounds,  likewise,  the  man  who  wrap- 
ped his  pound  in  a  napkin  and  gained  nothing  was 
deprived  of  his  pound.  In  the  parable  of  The  Mar- 
riage which  a  king  made  for  his  son,  the  man  with- 
out a  wedding  garment  was  cast  out.     There  is  one 


220  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

parable  in  action,  namely,  that  of  The  Withered  Fig 
Tree.  The  fig  tree  whose  leaves  gave  promise  of 
fruit  but  which  bore  no  fruit,  was  withered. 

In  the  account  of  the  judgment  of  the  nations  giv- 
en in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  the  gospel  by  Mat- 
thew, Jesus  says  that  from  among  the  nations.  He 
will  welcome  all  who  have  lived  lovingly  and  that 
He  will  condemn  all  who  have  lived  selfishly  and 
have  rendered  no  service.  The  former  He  will 
welcome  into  His  kingdom.  The  latter  He  will 
send  away.  "These  shall  go  away  into  eternal  pun- 
ishment" (literally  into  the  eternal  cutting  off  as 
branches  pruned  from  a  vine)  ;  "but  the  righteous 
into  eternal  life."  This  is  the  common  thought  in 
the  New  Testament :  the  one  class  shall  be  cut  from 
life ;   the  other  class  shall  possess  life. 

But  one  may  say,  do  not  the  scriptures  speak  of 
the  continuance  of  the  souls  of  bad  men  after  this  life? 
Yes.  But  that  continuance  is  prior  to  the  consumma- 
tion of  this  world's  history  ;  that  is  not  the  last  state. 
A  body  continues  after  death,  but  it  continues  in  a 
state  of  dissolution  which  decomposes  it  into  its 
original  elements  until  it  is  no  longer  a  body.  A 
depraved  soul  may  continue  after  death  but  under 
laws  which  will  destroy  it.  Jesus  says  to  His  dis- 
ciples: "Fear  not  them  who  kill  the  body,  but  are 
not  able  to  kill  the  soul:  but  rather  fear  Him  who 
is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell,  in 
gehenna." 

The  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus  may  be  re- 
ferred to  as  teaching  future  punishment  in  the  form 
of  pain.     But  that  parable  was  spoken  in  language 


Eternal  Life  221 


which  would  appeal  to  Pharisees  of  Jesus'  time.  It 
certainly  teaches  future  punishment  of  selfishness 
and  sin;  but  it  does  not  reach  out  into  times 
beyond  the  final  judgment.  It  cannot  be  referred 
to  as  a  proof  of  endless  torment  or  of  eternal  life 
in  sin. 

One  may  say,  Do  not  the  scriptures  teach  that  the 
wicked  will  have  their  place  in  gehenna^  in  the  fire 
belonging  to  that  place?  Yes.  But  it  will  be  well 
to  know  what  gehenna  meant  in  the  days  of  Jesus. 
Gehenna  is  the  Greek  form  of  the  words  Gah  Hin- 
nom.  This,  in  Hebrew,  was  the  valley  of  Hinnom. 
This  was  the  narrow  valley  which  skirted  Jerusalem 
on  the  south.  In  that  valley,  in  times  of  idolatry, 
idolatrous  Israelites  burned  their  children  in  the  fire 
to  Moloch.  The  valley,  in  later  years,  became  the 
common  lay-stall  of  the  city  where  the  dead  bodies 
of  criminals,  the  carcasses  of  animals,  and  every 
kind  of  filth  was  cast  to  waste  away  by  natural 
decay,  or,  according  to  late  authorities,  to  be  con- 
sumed by  fire.  Decay,  however,  is  simply  slow  com- 
bustion. 

Bodies  were  thrown  into  Gah  Hinnom,  not  for 
purposes  of  punishment  but  for  destruction.  The 
Jews  in  the  time  of  Jesus  employed  this  place  as  a 
symbol  of  the  place  into  which  the  wicked  finally 
would  be  cast.  Obviously,  they  could  not  regard 
this  place  as  symbolizing  pain,  but  as  setting  forth 
the  idea  of  dissolution  and  dissipation  into  nothing- 
ness. Jesus  took  up  this  name  in  common  use  and 
employed  it  to  designate  the  fate  of  the  unbelieving 
and  wicked.     Surely  the  most  natural  meaning  of 


222  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

such  a  name  and  such  imagery  is  not  torture  but 
destruction.  Jesus  compares  the  wicked  to  tares,  to 
fruitless  branches,  to  things  of  utter  worthlessness. 
The  effect  of  fire  depends  on  the  substance  on  which 
it  fastens.  Fire  purifies  gold.  Fire  consumes  tares. 
Jesus  says  the  wicked  are  tares. 

In  addition  to  the  teachings  found  in  the  gospels 
and  in  the  epistles  which  have  been  given  in  fullness, 
there  is  found  in  the  book  of  Revelation  a  brief 
description  of  the  judgment.  The  "dead  great  and 
small  stand  before  the  throne."  The  books  are 
opened.  Another  book  is  opened  which  is  the  book 
of  life.  "The  dead  are  judged  out  of  the  things 
which  are  written  in  the  books."  They  are  judged 
according  to  their  works.  "And  the  sea  gave  up 
the  dead  that  were  in  it ;  and  death  and  Hades  gave 
up  the  dead  that  were  in  them  :  and  they  were  judged 
every  man  according  to  their  works.  And  death  and 
Hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the 
second  death,  even  the  lake  of  fire.  And  if  any 
was  not  found  written  in  the  book  of  life,  he  was 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire." 

Dean  Alford  says  in  commenting  on  this  passage : 
"Hades  is  death's  follower  and  the  receiver  of  his 
prey.  The  punishment  of  sin  is  inflicted  on  both, 
because  both  are  the  offspring  and  bound  up  with 
sin.  This  is  the  second  death,  the  lake  of  fire.  As 
there  is  a  second  and  higher  life,  so  there  is  also 
a  second  and  deeper  death.  And  as  after  that  life 
there  is  no  more  death,  so  after  that  death  there  is 
no  more  life." 

J^otice  now  in  this  final  statement  of  the  New 


Eternal  Life  223 


Testament  that  not  only  they  whose  names  are  not 
written  in  the  book  of  life  and  who  therefore  are 
worthless  and  wicked,  but  death  itself  and  also 
Hades  are  all  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  and  so  suffer 
destruction.  Life  alone,  life  holy  and  worthy,  sur- 
vives and  reigns. 

Pain  as  punishment  holds  very  little  place  in  the 
New  Testament.  Torture  as  a  divine  delight  has 
no  place  whatever.  That  teaching  was  introduced 
into  the  Christian  church  from  pagan  sources.  This 
I  shall  show  later.  The  god  of  the  doctrine  of 
eternal  torture  was  Moloch  and  his  kind,  and  not  the 
God  and  Father  of  Jesus  the  Christ. 

I  already  have  stated  that  a  change  came  into 
the  teaching  of  the  church  when  men,  controlled  in 
their  thinking  by  Greek  philosophy  and  by  Roman 
law  with  its  imperial  ideas,  became  the  leading 
teachers  of  the  church.  I  am  not  writing  a  history 
of  Christian  doctrine  and  must,  therefore,  refer  the 
reader  to  treatises  on  that  subject  or  to  the  writings 
of  the  church  Fathers.  However,  for  the  benefit  of 
such  persons  as  may  not  be  able  to  refer  to  original 
documents,  I  shall  give  a  few  quotations  which  will 
serve  to  show  the  earlier  and  the  later  teachings  in 
the  Christian  church.  The  reader  will  mark  that 
the  earlier  writers  follow  the  simplicity  of  the  New 
Testament  and  the  later  writers  elaborate  their 
philosophy  of  the  nature  of  man  and  their  theories  of 
the  physical  and  eternal  character  of  punishment. 

In  The  Epistle  of  Barnabas  whose  date  is  about 
the  year  100  A.  D.,  we  read  as  follows:  **Thou 
§halt  be  simple  in  heart  and  rich  in  spirit.     Thou 


224  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

shalt  not  join  thyself  to  those  who  walk  in  the  way 
of  death.  The  way  of  darkness  is  crooked;  for  it 
is  the  way  of  eternal  death."  Again,  we  read :  "He 
who  keepeth  these,"  (the  judgments  of  the  Lord), 
"shall  be  glorified  in  the  kingdom  of  God;  but  he 
who  chooseth  other  things  shall  be  destroyed  with 
his  works." 

Theophilus  of  Antioch,  who  belonged  to  the  first 
half  of  the  second  century,  writing  of  the  nature 
of  man  says:  "But  some  one  will  say  to  us,  Was 
man  by  nature  mortal?  Certainly  not.  Was  he, 
then,  immortal?  Neither  do  we  affirm  this.  He 
was  by  nautre  neither  mortal  nor  immortal,  but  ca- 
pable of  both.  If  he  should  incline  to  the  things  of 
immortality,  keeping  the  commandment  of  God,  he 
should  receive  as  reward  from  Him,  immortality. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  should  turn  to  the 
things  of  death,  disobeying  God,  he  should  him- 
self be  the  cause  of  death  to  himself."  Such  is  the 
tenor  of  the  teaching  of  the  men  who  immediately 
succeeded  the  apostles. 

In  the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  though  some 
writers  follow  the  earlier  simplicity,  a  change  ap- 
pears. TertuUian,  who  wrote  about  the  beginning 
of  the  third  century,  speaking  of  final  rewards  says: 
"After  the  resurrection,  the  servants  of  God  are  for- 
ever with  God,  and  clothed  upon  with  the  proper 
substance  of  eternity;  but  the  profane  and  all  who 
are  not  true  worshipers  of  God,  in  like  manner  shall 
be  consigned  to  the  punishment  of  everlasting  fire." 
TertuUian,  then,  proceeds  to  argue  that  this  fire, 
so  far  from  destroying  like  ordinary  fire,  "from  its 


Eternal  Life  225 


very  nature  ministers  to  their  incorruptibility." 
That  is  to  say,  it  tends  to  make  them  indestructible. 
According  to  Tertulian,  the  wicked,  like  volcanoes 
which  burn  and  last,  will  endure  in  flames  for- 
ever. 

Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo  in  North  Africa, 
lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  and  the  early 
part  of  the  fifth  century.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  of  wide  influence.  He  knew  but  little 
Greek  and  no  Hebrew.  He  was  a  Latin  writer  domi- 
nated by  the  idea  of  Roman  imperialism.  He  inter- 
preted the  divine  government  after  the  analogy  of 
imperial  Rome.  To  him  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
was  not  ruled  by  biological  laws  but  by  laws  like  a 
political  empire.  Augustine  laid  supreme  stress  on 
law  and  authority  and  the  sovereign  and  indepen- 
dent character  of  the  ruling  powers.  His  teachings 
gave  direction  to  the  theological  thought  which  pre- 
vailed in  Europe  throughout  the  Middle  Ages. 

Augustine,  in  his  treatise  on  The  City  of  God, 
one  of  his  two  greatest  works,  wrote  as  follows: 
*Tor  to  what  but  to  felicity  should  men  consecrate 
themselves  were  felicity  a  goddess?  However,  as 
it  is  not  a  goddess,  but  a  gift  of  God,  to  what  God 
but  the  Giver  of  happiness  ought  we  to  consecrate 
ourselves,  who  piously  love  eternal  life,  in  which 
there  is  true  and  full  felicity?  For  we  mean  by 
eternal  life,  that  life  where  there  is  endlessness.  For 
if  the  soul  live  in  eternal  punishments,  by  which 
also  those  unclean  spirits  shall  be  tormented,  that 
is  rather  eternal  death  than  eternal  life.  For  there 
is  no  greater  or  worse  death  than  when  death  never 


226  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

dies.  But  because  the  soul  from  its  very  nature, 
being  created  immortal,  cannot  be  without  some 
kind  of  life,  its  utmost  death  is  alienation  from  the 
life  of  God  in  an  eternity  of  punishment.  So,  then. 
He  only  who  gives  true  happiness,  gives  eternal  life, 
that  is  an  endlessly  happy  life." 

The  change  from  the  simple  teachings  of  the  New 
Testament  and  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers  is  here  ap- 
parent. Almost  all  the  terms  in  common  use  for 
fifteen  hundred  years  are  found  in  the  writings  of 
Augustine.  The  natural  immortality  of  man,  felic- 
ity as  the  hope  of  the  human  heart,  happiness  and 
misery  as  the  rewards  of  faith  and  of  unbelief,  a 
happy  heaven  and  a  hell  of  physical  torment,  a  death 
which  is  simply  alienation  from  God  and  literal 
fire  consuming  but  not  destroying,  are  all  found 
in  the  writings  of  Augustine. 

Augustine  argues  that  there  are  material  bodies 
and  animal  bodies  which  can  continue  to  exist  in 
fire.  He  produces  these  arguments  in  order  to 
prove  the  possibility  of  eternal  physical  torment.  He 
rejects  as  untenable,  the  doctrine  of  those  who 
consider  fire  as  a  figure  of  speech  and  who  hold 
that  the  punishment  of  sin  is  ''the  anguish  of  a 
spirit  repenting  too  late  and  fruitlessly."  He  makes 
mention  of  "Animals  which  live  in  the  midst  of 
flames,  and  worms  which  live  in  springs  of  hot 
water." 

He  says:  "If,  therefore,  the  salamander  lives 
in  fire,  as  naturalists  have  recorded,  and  if  certain 
famous  mountains  of  Sicily  have  been  continually 
on  fire  from  the  rernotest  antiquity  until  now,  and 


Eternal  Life  227 


yet  remain  entire,  these  are  sufficiently  convincing 
examples  that  everthing  which  burns  is  not  con- 
sumed. As  the  soul  too  is  a  proof  that  not  every- 
thing which  can  suffer  pain,  can  also  die." 

Again,  he  says:  "It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that 
either  body  or  soul  will  escape  pain  in  the  future 
punishment,  yet,  for  my  own  part,  I  find  it  easier 
to  understand  both"  (that  is  the  fire  and  the  worm 
of  which  he  has  been  speaking)  "as  referring  to 
the  body,  than  to  suppose  that  neither  does.  I  think 
that  Scripture  is  silent  regarding  the  spiritual  pain 
of  the  damned,  because,  though  not  expressed,  it 
is  necessarily  understood  that  in  a  body  thus  tor- 
mented, the  soul  also  is  tortured  with  a  fruitless 
repentance."  He  further  adds:  "I  have  already 
sufficiently  made  out  that  animals  can  live  in  the 
fire,  in  burning  without  being  consumed,  in  pain 
without  dying,  by  a  miracle  of  the  most  omnipotent 
Creator,  to  whom  no  one  can  deny  that  this  is  pos- 
sible, if  he  be  not  ignorant  by  whom  has  been 
made  all  that  is  wonderful  in  all  nature." 

So  enamoured  is  Augustine  with  material  fire  as 
the  fitting  means  of  torment  that  he  suggests  that 
even  devils — who  evidently  puzzle  him  a  little — 
may  possibly  have  bodies.  He  says,  "Perhaps,  as 
learned  men  have  thought,  the  devils  have  a  kind 
of  body  made  of  that  dense  and  humid  air  which  we 
feel  strikes  us  when  the  wind  is  blowing."  But,  if 
this  is  not  the  case,  still  devils  can  burn.  He  says: 
"Therefore,  though  the  devils  have  no  bodies,  yet 
their  spirits,  that  is,  the  devils  themselves,  shall  be 
brought  into   thorough   contact  with   the  material 


228  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

fires  to  be  tormented  by  them.  That  hell,  which 
also  is  called  a  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  will  be 
material  fire,  and  will  torment  the  bodies  of  the 
damned,  whether  men  or  devils,  the  solid  bodies  of 
the  one,  aerial  bodies  of  the  other." 

The  reader  can  easily  judge  for  himself,  from 
the  above  quotations,  whether  the  doctrine  of  hell 
and  of  future  punishment  which  was  taught  by  the 
church  during  the  Middle  Ages  and  which  was 
preached  commonly  since  the  Reformation  until 
recent  years  came  from  the  New  Testament.  A  few 
facts  are,  historically,  very  plain. 

I.  Torment  is  not  emphasized  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament as   the   punishment  of   sin. 

II.  Torment  is  emphasized  in  the  teachings 
of  much  of  the  world  apart  from  Christianity. 

III.  The  doctrine  of  eternal  torment  was  in- 
troduced into  the  teaching  of  the  Christian  church 
by  men  whose  minds  had  been  filled  with  ideas  of 
pagan  philosophy  and  doctrine. 

To  the  student  of  religions,  it  is  quite  apparent 
that  the  doctrine  of  torment  and  descriptions  in 
vivid  colors  of  physical  punishments  are  derived 
from  pagan  and  not  from  original  Christian  sources. 
A  few  quotations  will  serve  to  illustrate  this. 

Buddhist  descriptions  of  the  punishments  of 
those  in  hell  portray  them  as  undergoing  various 
forms  of  torture.  "Some  are  among  fabled  moun- 
tains ;  some  are  upon  the  shores  of  a  great  sea ; 
one  place  is  a  place  of  terrific  darkness ;  another  is 
a  place  of  red-hot  iron ;  another  contains  pits  of 
burning  charcoal;    another  is  a  dense  forest  whose 


Eternal  Life  229 


leaves  are  sharp  swords;  another  is  a  place  paved 
with  iron  spikes."  Everything  is  painted  as  vividly 
as  in  the  hell  of  Dante. 

Homer  who,  doubtless,  popularized  the  thought 
of  his  time  among  the  Greeks,  as  Milton  described 
the  thought  of  his  day,  describes  Tartarus  as  "A  deep 
gulf  beneath  the  earth,  with  iron  portals  and  a 
brazen  threshold,  as  far  below  Hades  as  heaven  is 
from  earth." 

The  Northmen  of  Scandinavia  believed  that  evil 
men  should  be  banished  from  Valhalla,  the  palace  of 
immortality  where  the  souls  of  heroes  dwell,  "and 
that  perjurers,  murderers,  and  they  who  seduce 
men's  wives  shall  wade  through  thick  venom 
streams  in  Nastrond." 

Ximenes,  in  his  hidian  Chronicles,  gives  the  des- 
criptions of  hell  which  he  found  among  the  Ameri- 
can Indians.  "Hell  is  a  house  of  darkness;  a  house 
of  unendurable  cold ;  a  house  of  tigers  which  lacer- 
ate the  inhabitants;  a  house  of  bats  which  cry  ter- 
ribly and  fly  wildly  about;  and  finally  a  house  of 
edges  of  knives." 

The  above  quotations  from  widely  different 
sources  seem  to  indicate  a  disposition  on  the  part 
of  primitive  and  unchristian  men  to  ascribe  the 
cruelty  common  to  men  to  the  character  of 
God,  and  to  conceive  of  punishment  in  terms  of  tor- 
ment. 

Certain  influential  writers  of  the  early  church, 
retaining  apparently  something  of  this  primitive  dis- 
position and  controlled,  in  part,  in  their  thinking  by 
pagan  thought,  misinterpreted  some  expressions  of 


230  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

the  New  Testament  with  respect  to  punishment, 
and  misunderstood  and  misused  the  figure  of  fire 
which  occurs  in  the  parables  and  the  teachings  of 
Jesus.  Some  of  these  writers  gave  free  scope  and 
vivid  expression  to  their  imagination  in  portraying 
the  punishment  of  sinners  in  the  department  of 
Hades  known  as  Tartarus. 

Tertullian,  a  fierce  and  barbarous  sort  of  Chris- 
tian, depicts  ''Illustrious  monarchs,  world's  wise 
men,  philosophers,  and  poets  trembling  before  the 
judgment  seat  and  burning  in  fires;  tragedians,  play 
actors  and  wrestlers  dissolving  in  Hame,  glowing  in 
fire,  tossing  in  fiery  billows  for  rejecting  Christ  and 
for  sin." 

Hippolytus  describes  a  place  of  unquenchable  fire 
where  the  unrighteous  and  those  w^ho  believe  not 
God  shall  endure  endless  punishment.  "No  sleep 
will  give  them  rest ;  no  night  will  soothe  them ;  no 
voice  of  interceding  friends  will  profit  them ;  but 
to  the  lovers  of  iniquity  shall  be  given  eternal  pun- 
ishment.'' 

Lactantius  says,  "The  wicked  will  again  be 
clothed  with  flesh,  yet  it  will  not  be  flesh  like  this 
our  earthly  body,  but  indestructible  and  abiding  for- 
ever that  it  may  be  able  to  hold  out  against  tortures 
and  everlasting  fire." 

In  later  times,  the  paintings  of  artists  such  as  ap- 
pear in  pictures  of  the  latter  part  of  the  Middle 
Ages  and  the  poems  of  such  great  poets  as  Dante, 
in  his  Inferno  and  Milton  in  his  Paradise  Lost, 
added  to  the  popular  belief  in  the  torments  of  the 
lost.     So  the  doctrine  of  eternal  torment  as  the  pun- 


Eternal  Life  231 


ishment  of  sin  became  incorporated  in  the  theology 
and  the  teachings  of  the  church. 

Pain  does  not  hold  the  place  in  the  punishment 
of  sin  in  the  New  Testament,  which  it  has  held  in 
historic  theology.  The  New  Testament  clearly 
teaches  that  sin  merits  and  will  receive  punish- 
ment. There  are  "many  stripes"  and  *'few  stripes" 
inflicted  according  to  knowledge  and  desert;  men 
are  "rewarded  according  to  their  works;"  but  these 
punishments  belong  rather  to  the  discipline  and 
training  of  life  and  precede  the  final  consumma- 
tion. "There  is  a  sin,"  says  Jesus,  "possible  now 
which  shall  not  be  forgiven,  neither  in  this  world, 
nor  in  that  which  is  to  come."  The  time  limit, 
when  punishment  shall  no  longer  belong  to  the  dis- 
ciplinary process  of  life,  but  shall  become  purely 
destructive,  is  not  revealed  to  us. 

God  and  holiness,  truth  and  love,  will  be  no  more 
attractive  and  lovable  in  any  other  world  and 
state  than  now.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  and  con- 
trary to  the  tenor  of  the  scriptures,  to  imagine  that 
the  future  holds  better  conditions  and  possibilities  of 
salvation  than  the  present.  But,  evidently,  it  is  not 
the  incident  of  physical  death  which  may  happen  at 
any  time  and  at  any  age,  but  the  personal  and  per- 
manent choice  of  every  soul  which  decides  destiny. 
The  ultimate  end  to  the  unbelieving  and  the  wicked 
when  the  chastisements  of  God  have  failed  to  lead 
to  repentance  and  the  grace  of  God  has  failed  to 
save,  is  death.  Not  pain  but  perdition  is  the  end 
of  sin. 

Torment  does  not  honor  and  maintain  the  law, 


232  The  .Secret  of  Successful  Life 

nor  satisfy  God,  nor  even  by  an  exhibition  of  "jus- 
tice," cause  the  saints  to  "rejoice"  and  "excite  them 
to  joyful  praises,"  as  so  late  a  theologian  as  Jonathan 
Edwards    taught. 

It  is  the  worthlessness  more  than  the  wickedness 
of  selfish  men  which  is  emphasized  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. The  sinful  are  foolish,  like  the  foolish 
virgins;  they  are  slothful,  like  the  man  who  wrap- 
ped his  talent  in  a  napkin ;  they  are  indifferent  and 
obey  not  the  gospel;  they  have  no  future  worth, 
like  fruitless  branches  and  like  tares;  they  are 
objects  of  divine  condemnation;  they  are  children  of 
(jehenna;  they  are  sons  of  destruction. 

The  punishments  of  sinners  correspond  to  their 
characters  and  may  be  summed  up  under  five  heads. 
The  punishment  of  sin  is  exclusion.  The  foolish 
virgins  are  excluded  from  the  marriage  celebration; 
sinners  are  excluded  from  heaven.  The  punish- 
ment of  sin  is  privation.  The  talent  of  the  sloth- 
ful man  is  taken  from  him ;  power  and  opportunity 
are  taken  away  from  the  sinner.  The  punishment 
of  sin  is  degradation.  The  man  without  a  wedding 
garment  is  cast  out  from  the  feast ;  sinners  without 
the  character  which  divine  grace  offers,  are  cast  out 
into  darkness.  The  punishment  of  sins  perdition.  The 
wicked  are  like  chaff,  like  fruitless  branches,  like 
tares,  fit  only  to  be  burned.  The  final  punishment 
of  sin  is  said  to  be  apoleia  or  perdition,  olethros  or 
destruction,  a  place  in  a  lake  of  fire,  a  second  death. 

Now  as  science  does  not  discover,  nor  philosophy 
prove,  nor  revelation  teach,  the  natural  immortality 
of  man,  the  very  significant  words  and  symbols  of 


Etertial  Life  233 


the  New  Testament  must  be  interpreted  in  their 
ordinary  and  natural  meaning,  and  we  must  accept 
as  a  very  simple  statement  of  fact  the  declaration 
of  the  New  Testament,  namely,  that  "the  wages  of 
sin  is  death."  Death,  like  life,  is  a  merciful  pro- 
vision of  infinite  love. 

No  more  unscriptural  and  unworthy  conception 
of  punishment  could  have  been  devised  than  that 
which  presents  it  as  an  act  of  wrath  inflicted  mainly 
to  satisfy  the  injured  feelings  of  an  offended  Deity. 
That  is  a  conception  of  unregenerate  and  unchris- 
tian humanity  unrelieved  of  its  pagan  character.  I 
once  heard  a  preacher  of  some  popular  power  com- 
pare the  result  of  punishment  in  the  mind  of  God 
to  the  efifect  of  punishment  on  the  minds  of  men 
whose  desire  of  vengeance  has  been  satisfied  by  the 
violent  execution  of  a  murderer.  The  men  have 
given  expression  to  their  feeling  of  anger  and  lust 
of  vengeance,  and  so  are  satisfied.  In  like  manner, 
said  the  preacher,  God  satisfies  Himself  by  the  pun- 
ishment of  men.  He  added  to  this  caricature  by 
affirming  that  God  could  not  pardon  sin  until  He 
had  satisfied  Himself  for  vengeance  by  the  literal 
punishment  of  His  Son.  That  God  will  be  satisfied 
in  Himself  with  all  His  acts  towards  men,  we  may 
well  believe.  But  the  satisfaction  of  the  God  and 
Father  of  Jesus  will  not  be  the  satisfaction  of  an 
irate  father  who  has  whipped  an  erring  son,  and 
has,  thereby,  relieved  himself  of  his  anger.  The  sat- 
isfaction of  God  will  be  that  of  a  father  who  has 
suffered  for  his  erring  son,  and  who  has  done  his 
best  to  reclaim  him.     The  satisfaction  of  God  will 


234  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

be  that  of  a  father  who,  if  he  leaves  a  wilful  son  to 
his  fate,  does  so  because,  under  the  beneficent  laws 
of  life,  it  is  inevitable  and  it  is  best. 

Punishments  in  nature  are  for  two  purposes,  me- 
dicinal and  surgical.  Punishment  first  administered 
is  medicinal  and  designed  to  save  the  sinner.  Pun- 
ishment, when  the  sinner  cannot  be  saved,  is  sur- 
gical and  designed  to  save  society.  The  first  pun- 
ishments of  sin,  if  heeded,  are  admonitory,  salutary, 
and  saving.  Later  punishments  are  destructive. 
This  is  clearly  seen  in  the  effects  of  physical  vices. 
The  first  pains  are  admonitory  and,  if  heeded,  cor- 
rective. Where  correction  is  refused,  they  become 
destructive.  The  vicious  man  is  taken  out  of  so- 
ciety.    His  removal  is  beneficent. 

Punishment  on  the  part  of  wise  and  loving  par- 
ents, is  intended  to  save  the  child.  Where  the  child 
will  not  be  saved,  that  punishment  which  excludes 
him  from  home  is  intended  to  save  that  portion  of 
the  family  which  is,  as  yet,  uncorrupted. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  as  society  moves  farther 
away  from  those  conceptions  of  government,  law, 
and  punishment  which  have  descended  from  pagan 
times,  and  as  it  incorporates  the  teaching  and  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  into  civil  legislation  and  the  admin- 
istration of  law,  society  loses  the  desire  simply  for 
vengeance,  on  the  sinner  and  uses  punishment,  first, 
if  possible,  to  save  the  offender,  and,  then,  if  that 
cannot  be  done,  excludes  the  incorrigible  offender 
from  its  presence  to  save  society  itself.  The  refor- 
matory for  children;  the  indeterminate  sentence  for 
criminals;    the  gift  to  a  discharged  prisoner  of  an 


Eternal  Life  235 


opportunity  to  choose  and  to  follow  some  useful 
career,  all  indicate  the  modern  conception  of  pun- 
ishment. 

Human  society,  by  its  present  practice,  affirms  its 
practical  belief  in  conditional  immortality  within 
the  limits  of  this  present  life.  That  the  privilege 
of  remaining  in  relation  to  human  society  as  a  free 
member  of  it  is  conditioned  upon  worthiness,  is  the 
practical  belief  of  men  nowadays.  The  man  who 
will  not  accept  the  common  customs  of  society  and 
obey  its  laws  is  first  punished  as  a  means  of  restraint 
and  of  reform ;  and,  when  reform  is  impossible,  he 
is  excluded  from  society.  This  is,  also,  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  divine  government. 

All  physical  life  in  this  world  from  the  tiniest 
flower  to  the  most  perfect  animal  is  conditioned.  All 
physical  development  and  the  avoidance  of  death,  de- 
pend on  the  fulfillment  of  the  conditions  of  life. 
All  mental  and  all  moral  growth  are,  likewise,  con- 
ditioned. If  the  conditions  are  not  fulfilled,  there 
are  degeneration  and  decay  of  mental  and  moral 
power. 

Conditional  immortality  is  the  doctrine  that  man 
is  created  capable  of  immortality.  Man's  posses- 
sion of  immortality  depends  on  his  fulfilling  the  con- 
ditions. Men  live  under  various  circumstances  of 
light,  knowledge,  and  opportunity.  Their  attitude 
of  mind  and  heart  towards  light,  their  desire  of 
knowledge,  or  their  lack  of  desire,  their  improve- 
ment or  neglect  of  opportunity,  are  the  important 
human  elements.  According  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, eternal  life  is  given  to  them  who  diligently 


236  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

seek  it ;  eternal  life  is  given  to  them  who,  having 
the  light  of  nature  only,  the  voice  of  conscience  and 
the  touch  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus  whom  they  have  not 
known,  live  in  love;  eternal  life  is  given  to  them 
who  having  the  gospel,  believe  on  the  Son  of  God. 

Saint  Paul  expresses  his  thought  of  the  condition 
of  condemnation  in  his  words  to  the  Jews  of  An- 
tioch  in  Pisidia  when  he  said:  "It  was  necessary 
that  the  word  of  God  should  first  be  spoken  to  you: 
Seeing  ye  thrust  it  from  you  and  judge  yourselves 
unworthy  of  eternal  life,  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gen- 
tiles." 

Jesus  expresses  the  condition  of  commendation 
when  He  says,  "Every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth 
the  light,  but  he  that  doeth  the  truth  cometh  to  the 
light."  Again  Jesus  says,  "Every  one  that  is  of  the 
truth,  heareth  my  voice."  In  His  account  of  His 
judgment  of  the  nations,  Jesus  says  that  He  will 
welcome  all  who  live  in  love  and  so  possess  His 
spirit,  though  they  have  not  known  Him  in  person 
or  by  name. 

The  truth-loving  mind,  the  receptive  soul,  the  lov- 
ing heart  are  the  conditions  in  man,  anywhere  and 
in  any  age,  of  receiving  the  reward  of  eternal  life. 

Conditional  immortality  differs  from  annihila- 
tion. Annihilation,  strictly  speaking,  is  an  act  of 
reducing  to  nothing.  The  word  carries  with  it  the 
idea  of  putting  forth  power  to  destroy.  It  conveys 
the  conception  of  crushing  out  of  existence  some- 
thing which,  let  alone,  would  continue.  Condi- 
tional immortality,  on  the  contrary,  conveys  the  idea 
of  a  life  dying  out  of  itself  for  want  of  the  fulfill- 


Eternal  Life  237 


ment  of  the  conditions  of  continued  living.  It  is 
like  a  flame  fading  and  dying,  because  it  fails  to 
feed  upon  oil.  It  is,  as  Kant  suggests,  a  soul  dying 
from  inanition. 

Three  views,  at  present,  are  held  respecting  the 
final  destiny  of  men.  There  is  the  common  opinion 
that  man  is  created  immortal  and  his  destiny  is  to 
live  forever  in  happiness  or  in  misery.  There  is  the 
opinion  that  man  is  naturally  immortal  and,  in 
some  way,  by  the  grace  of  God,  all  men  will  escape 
from  sin  and  exist  forever  in  felicity.  There  is  the 
opinion  that  man  is  created  capable  of  becoming 
immortal,  and  men  will  cease  to  be  or  live  forever, 
according. as  they  reject  or  receive  the  grace  of  God. 

With  respect  to  the  first  view,  ancient  and  wide- 
spread as  it  is,  let  me  ask :  Can  any  sane  man  suf- 
fering agony  from  toothache  or  neuralgia  or  acute 
indigestion  or  filled  with  unspeakable  anguish  in  his 
soul,  really  believe  that  a  man  should  and  can  and 
must  exist  forever  in  untold  misery  and  unspeakable 
pain?  The  men  who  have  preached  this  doctrine 
have  had  no  vivid  conception  and  realization  of 
what  it  meant.  It  was  a  far-away  suffering  which 
they  did  not  feel.  A  God  who  would  create  a 
being  like  man,  place  him  in  a  world  like  this,  give 
him  a  little  span  of  three  score  and  ten  years  and, 
then,  for  failure  to  live  righteously  during  those 
years,  would  consign  him  to  an  eternity  of  unre- 
lieved torment,  could  not  be  worshipped. 

If  a  man  like  Jonathan  Edwards,  for  instance,  had 
not  been  under  the  domination  of  a  system  of  belief 
in  which  man  was  simply  a  means  of  maintaining 


238  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

that  system,  and  if  he  had  observed  his  own  chil- 
dren, known  his  own  neighbors,  and  studied  his  own 
heart,  could  never  have  preached  some  sermons 
which  one  must  wish  never  had  been  printed. 

With  respect  to  the  second  view,  namely,  that 
of  universal  salvation,  personally,  I  should  be  only 
too  glad  to  believe  it  true.  But  I  cannot  blind  my 
eyes  to  the  laws  of  life  to  which  I  have  called  atten- 
tion; I  cannot  refuse  to  see  that  Jesus  in  His  para- 
bles and  plain  statements  declares  that  the  laws 
of  the  divine  kingdom  are  biological  laws ;  I  cannot 
remove  the  impression  of  the  pictures  which  Jesus 
portrays,  nor  change  the  meaning  of  the  words  He 
uses  in  speaking  of  final  things. 

One  would  think  that  a  doctrine  so  full  of  hope 
as  universalism  would  crowd  the  churches  of  those 
who  preach  it.  But  they  are  not  crowded  nor 
greatly  multiplied.  Much  as  men  like  myself  might 
wish  that  it  may  be  well  hereafter  with  all  men,  the 
intellectual  vision  of  men  is  too  clear,  the  moral  con- 
science of  men  is  too  keen,  and  the  evidence  in  the 
resultant  facts  of  choice  and  conduct  is  too  plain, 
for  men  to  entertain  the  thought  that  faith  and  un- 
belief, love  and  selfishness,  obedience  to  divine  law 
and  disobedience,  will  sometime  issues  in  the  same 
result.  Ian  Maclaren  has  said  in  a  sermon  on 
Judgment  According  to  Type,  "We  have  a  robust 
common  sense  of  morality  which  refuses  to  believe 
that  it  does  not  matter  whether  a  man  has  lived  like 
the  Apostle  Paul  or  the  Emperor  Nero."  It  is  said, 
however,  that  the  issue  of  well-being  comes  through 
repentance  at  some  time. 


Eternal  Life  239 


A  single  act  of  sin,  like  David's  adultery  and  its 
consequent  crimes;  or  like  Peter's  denial  of  Jesus, 
may  startle  a  soul  and  show  its  weakness  and  lead 
to  that  repentance  which  pens  penitential  psalms  or, 
in  darkness,  weeps  bitterly,  and  so  may  occasion 
the  rebound  of  a  virtually  healthy  soul  from  sin. 
But,  while  this  is  true,  the  plain  fact  remains  shown 
on  every  hand  that  a  course  of  sin  wilfully  chosen 
and  followed  naturally  and  inevitably  dulls  the 
conscience,  darkens  the  moral  vision,  hardens  the 
heart,  and  leads  a  soul  in  the  way  of  death.  The 
law  of  sin  is  not  a  law  which  works  life  but  death 
rather.  There  are  seemingly  men  now,  such  as 
Saint  Paul  speaks  of,  **Who  are  past  feeling."  And 
the  scriptures  plainly  speak  of  a  time,  whatever  may 
be  the  deciding  cause,  when  it  is  too  late  to  repent,  a 
time  when  the  day  has  gone  and  the  night  which 
will  know  no  dawning,  has  come. 

With  respect  to  the  third  view,  that  of  condi- 
tional immortality,  a  few  things  may  be  said.  It 
is  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  nature  regulating 
all  life  in  this  world  within  the  time  limits  of  each 
kind  of  life.  It  is  in  harmony  with  the  doctrine 
of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  The  fittest,  in  this 
case,  is  not  the  strongest  in  a  militant  way,  but  the 
best.  It  is  that  which  has  fulfilled  the  conditions  of 
life  and  so  is  worthy  to  endure.  It  is  in  accord  with 
the  teachings  of  Jesus.  Jesus  does  not  compare  the 
divine  kingdom  with  an  imperial  kingdom,  as  Ro- 
man theology  does,  but  with  the  biological  king- 
dom of  earth.  All  through  nature,  anything  hav- 
ing life  which  fails  to  fulfill  the  conditions  of  living 


240  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

and  to  attain  its  fitting  destiny,  within  the  possible 
limit  of  time  allotted  it,  decays  and  dies.  Why 
should  the  life  of  highest  potentiality,  having  the 
possibility  of  eternal  existence,  be  an  exception  to 
this  law?  One  would  think  that  failure  here  would 
be  most  offensive  to  the  Creator.  One  would  think 
that,  beyond  anything  else,  such  life  should  be  sub- 
ject to  the  law  of  death. 

Why  a  man,  who  has  been  given  by  his  Creator 
exceptional  potential  powers,  great  possibilities,  and 
a  chance  of  choosing  the  way  of  eternal  life,  but 
who  refuses  to  choose  that  way  and  so  becomes,  at 
length,  a  being  of  no  pleasure  to  himself,  of  no  value 
to  society,  of  no  delight  or  use  to  God,  should  live 
forever,  does  not  appear. 

Speaking  for  myself,  I  must  say  that  I  cannot 
feel  nor  think,  whatever  I  may  do  and  be,  that  I 
ever  could  be  reconciled  to  any  so-called  divine  jus- 
tice which  would  consign  me  to  everlasting  torment 
or  to  hopeless  remorse  and  unavailing  regret.  But 
I  could  feel  and  think  that  having  been  given  life 
and  its  possibilities;  if,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Crea- 
tor from  whom  life  is  derived  and  by  whom  it  is 
sustained,  I  were  of  no  value  to  the  coherent  sys- 
tem of  the  social  and  moral  universe,  I  should  cease 
to  be.  There  would  not  appear  to  me  any  injustice 
in  such  a  judgment. 

As  to  eternal  torment,  it  should  be  noticed,  that 
a  man  who,  being  injured  in  any  way  by  another 
man,  and  who  having  power  to  do  so,  should  take 
the  man  who  injured  him  and  imprison  him  and  vol- 
untarily inflict  on  him  daily  torture  for  the  sake  of 


Eternal  Life  24] 


punishing  by  pain,  and  who  should  continue  this  so 
long  as  his  enemy  could  possibly  live,  would  be  re- 
garded as  an  immoral  monster.  What  would  be 
immoral  and  unjust  in  man,  cannot  be  moral  and 
just  in  God. 

It  may  well  be  asked  again.  Why  should  any 
creature  contiue  to  exist  when  he  has  failed  of  the 
ends  of  its  creation?  When  it  is  no  pleasure  to 
itself?  When  it  is  of  no  value  to  others?  When 
it  is  nothing  but  an  offense  to  its  Creator?  By  the 
most  common  laws  of  nature  that  a  living  thing 
which  does  not  fulfill  the  conditions  of  its  continu- 
ance, growth,  and  perfection,  declines,  decays  and 
dies.  Nay  more,  the  very  forces  which  build  up  a 
living  thing,  destroy  a  declining  and  dying  thing. 
Sunlight,  air,  and  showers  feed  a  growing  plant, 
but  consume  a  decaying  plant.  A  mind  unexer- 
cised loses  its  powers  of  acquisition  and  expansion, 
and  sinks  to  idiocy.  A  moral  nature  misused,  loses 
moral  discernment  and  affection.  A  wicked  man 
who  says  in  his  heart,  "There  is  no  God,"  has  be- 
come insensible  to  God  and  has  lost  connection, 
inwardly,  with  the  source  of  life,  Why  should  the 
touch  of  God,  without,  continue  to  preserve  him? 
How  can  he  continue  to  live?  Why  should  he 
continue  to  live? 

"No,  no,  the  energy  of  life  may  be 
Kept  on  after  the  grave,  but  not  begun; 
And  he  who  flagged  not  in  the  earthly  strife, 
From  strength  to  strength  advancing — only  he, 
His  soul  well-knit  and  all  his  battles  won, 
Mounts,  and  that  hardly,  to  eternal  life." 


242  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

Mr.  Charles  Darwin,  in  closing  his  treatise  on 
The  Descent  of  Man,  says:  "For  my  own  part,  I 
would  as  soon  be  descended  from  that  heroic  little 
monkey,  who  braved  his  dreaded  enemy  in  order  to 
save  the  life  of  his  keeper ;  or  from  that  old  baboon, 
who,  descending  from  the  mountains,  carried  away 
in  triumph  his  young  comrade  from  a  crowd  of  as- 
tonished dogs — as  from  a  savage  who  delights  to 
torture  his  enemies,  offers  up  bloody  sacrifices,  prac- 
tices infanticide  without  remorse,  treats  his  wives 
like  slaves,  knows  no  decency,  and  is  haunted  by  the 
grossest  superstitions." 

In  writing  on  the  ascent  of  man,  one  may  say: 
The  dog,  who,  though  hungry,  will  suffer  rather 
than  touch  his  master's  dinner  which  he  guards; 
who  will  loyally  serve  his  master  even  when  that 
master  is  unkind ;  who  will  brave  danger  and  fight 
and  die  in  his  master's  defence,  seems  more  loving, 
moral,  and  noble  than  the  man  who  will  allow  his 
wife  and  children  to  suffer  the  pangs  of  hunger; 
who  will  treat  with  cruelty  those  who  are  kind  to 
him;  who  will  beat  his  children  and  permit  them 
to  die  for  want  of  attention  that  he  may  indulge 
himself  through  lusts  in  grossest  vices.  Why  should 
such  a  man — because  he  has  been  made  a  man  with 
a  man's  possibilities — continue  to  live  forever,  when 
he  has  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  monkey  and  the 
dog?  Why  should  the  latter  die  because  they  are 
animals,  and  the  former  live  simply  because  he  bears 
the  form  of  a  man? 

In  fact,  a  man  without  love  as  the  dominating 
motive  in  his  life  is  like  a  sunbeam  without  heat, 


Eternal  Life  243 


if  he  is  simply  moral.  He  is  like  a  rose  without 
fragrance,  if  he  is  simply  physically  clean.  He  is 
like  grain  which  has  rotted,  if  he  is  grossly  de- 
praved. 

Again,  I  repeat  the  question.  Why  should  a  man, 
who  in  point  of  love  and  morals  is  worthless,  who  is 
of  no  pleasure  to  himself,  who  is  of  no  use  to  oth- 
ers, who  is  no  delight  to  God,  continue  to  exist  for- 
ever? For  God  to  maintain  such  a  life  by  the 
mere  exercise  of  His  power  would  be  a  misuse  of 
power,  for  it  is  not  a  beneficent  use.  For  God  to 
force  a  sensitive,  living  creature  to  continue  to  live 
simply  that  He  may  suffer  pain  forever,  would  be 
an  act  of  continued  cruelty.  Death,  in  such  a  case, 
is  a  merciful  event,  administered  in  loving  kindness 
by  infinite  love. 

Eternal  life,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  greatest 
gift  of  divine  grace,  the  reward  of  faith,  the  pos- 
session of  love.  Three  terms  are  used  to  express 
the  idea  of  eternal  life.  These  are  incorruptibility, 
immortality,  and  eternity.  According  to  the  New 
Testament  those  who  believe  "have  been  begotten 
of  incorruptible  seed";  they  have  "a  living  hope 
of  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled,  and 
that  fadeth  not  away" ;  their  present  condition  must 
be  changed  so  that  ''this  corruptible  must  put  on 
incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortal- 
ity"; and  "when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on 
incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  im- 
mortality ;  then  shall  come  to  pass  the  saying  that  is 
written,  'Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory'  " ;  then, 
they,  who  "by  patience  have  sought  for  glory  and 


244  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

honor  and  Immortality,  shall  have  eternal  life." 
These  words:  incorruption,  immortality,  and  eter- 
nal in  their  various  forms  as  nouns  and  as  adjectives 
are  the  exact  equivalents  of  the  Greek  words  which 
they  translate.  A  metal  which  cannot  corrode,  a 
vegetable  fiber  which  cannot  decay,  a  consciousness 
in  thought  which  cannot  cease,  must  be  eternal.  An 
incorruptible,  immortal,  and  deathless  man  must 
live  forever. 

Scientific  students  of  human  evolution  and  his- 
tory, recognize  the  fact  that  further  development  of 
mankind  must  be  along  moral  lines.  They  also 
recognize  the  fact  that  a  future  life  seems  to  be 
necessary  to  complete  what  is  so  imperfect  and  so 
broken  here.  Professor  Henry  Drummond  has  said, 
"One  of  the  most  startling  achievements  of  recent 
science  is  a  definition  of  eternal  life."  Herbert 
Spencer  said,  "Perfect  correspondence  would  be  per- 
fect life.  Were  there  no  changes  in  the  environ- 
ment but  such  as  the  organism  had  adapted  changes 
to  meet,  and  were  it  never  to  fail  in  the  efficiency 
with  which  it  met  them,  there  would  be  eternal 
existence  and  eternal  knowledge." 

Charles  Darwin  writing  on  The  Descent  of  Man 
concludes  his  book  by  sajdng:  "Man  may  be  ex- 
cused for  feeling  some  pride  at  having  risen,  though 
not  by  his  own  exertions,  to  the  very  summit  of  the 
organic  scale ;  and  the  fact  of  his  having  risen,  in- 
stead of  having  been  aboriginally  placed  there,  may 
give  him  hopes  for  a  still  higher  destiny  in  the  dis- 
tant future."  What  that  distant  future  may  have 
embraced  in  Mr.  Darwin's  mind,  I  do  not  know; 


Eternal  Life  245 


but  even  if,  in  his  own  thought,  it  had  reference  to 
the  advance  of  the  race,  it  is  suggestive  and  serves 
to  give  hope  of  a  still  greater  future. 

Science,  however,  which  furnishes  a  definition 
of  eternal  life,  does  not  inform  us  how  to  fulfil  those 
conditions.  Science  which  sometimes  expresses  a 
hope  of  a  future  life  is  not  able  to  affirm  it.  Jesus 
Christ,  alone,  who  abolished  death,  has  brought  life 
and  immortality  to  light.  Through  Him,  eternal 
life  is  the  gift  of  God  to  man.  As  many  as  receive 
Him  to  them  gives  He  the  right  to  become  children 
of  God.  The  Son  of  God  became  the  Son  of  Man 
and  so,  by  virtue  of  the  assumption  of  flesh,  brother 
of  men  by  incarnation.  The  sons  of  men  become  sons 
of  God,  by  faith,  and  so  brothers  of  Christ  by 
regeneration. 

Jesus  has  said,  "Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of 
God,  the  same  is  my  brother  and  sister."  Saint 
Paul  has  said,  "As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  these  are  sons  of  God."  Saint  John  has  said, 
"Beloved,  now  are  we  children  of  God,  and  it  is 
not  yet  made  manifest  what  we  shall  be.  We  know 
that,  if  He  shall  be  manifested,  we  shall  be  like 
Him ;    for  we  shall  see  Him  even  as  He  is." 

Eternal  life  is,  then,  first  of  all,  a  kind  and  qual- 
ity and  grade  of  life.  Its  beginning  is  here;  its 
completion  is  hereafter.  Its  character  is  now  man- 
ifest; its  consummation  and  its  glory  are  yet  to 
appear.  Eternal  life  is  a  life  of  faith  in  God ;  it  is 
a  life  of  love  for  Christ;  it  is  a  life  of  communion 
with  the  ever-living  Spirit.  It  is  fed  from  unfailing 
sources.     The  eternal  life  lives  because  God  lives. 


246  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

It  loves  because  God  loves.  It  Is  mericful  because 
God  is  merciful.  It  blesses  because  God  blesses. 
It  is  joyous  because  of  the  joy  of  God.  It  is  un- 
failing because  God  is  unfailing.  "They  who  wait 
upon  the  Lord  renew  their  strength."  They  know 
that  their  strength  has  been  renewed.  The  love 
of  Christ  constrains  them  who  believe.  It  seizes 
them  and  bears  them  on  its  own  gracious  way  as  a 
river  seizes  and  bears  on  its  way  the  smaller  streams 
which  join  it.  The  man  in  whom  is  eternal  life 
comes  to  think  as  Jesus  thinks,  and  to  love  as  Jesus 
loves,  and  to  do  as  Jesus  does,  and  so  grows  into  the 
likeness  of  Jesus. 

Christianity  has  suffered  greatly  in  efficiency  from 
the  diversion  of  the  minds  of  men  from  this  great 
purpose  of  God  in  Christ.  The  church  has  taught 
the  gospel  as  a  plan  of  salvation  rather  than  as  a 
power  of  salvation.  The  church  has  conceived 
of  salvation  as  the  adjustment  of  legal  relations  be- 
tw^een  God  and  men,  rather  than  as  the  impartation 
and  perfecting  of  a  new  life.  The  fact  of  the  new 
life — it  must  be  said  in  justice  to  the  church — has 
not  been  denied  nor  wholly  lost  sight  of,  but  it  has 
been  obscured.  The  result  has  been  that  men  have 
thought  of  the  gospel  as  a  sort  of  scheme  and  plan 
of  insurance — a  condition,  a  covenant,  a  promise — 
by  belief  in  which  men  may  escape  future  punish- 
ment and  secure  entrance  into  heaven.  But  the 
gospel  is  the  revelation  and  the  publication  of  God's 
love  to  men,  and  the  promise  that  he  who  believes 
may  live  in  that  love.  It  is  fortunate  that  of  late 
years,  emphasis  is  placed  upon  Christianity  as  a  life. 


Eternal  Life  247 


It  feeds  indeed  upon  a  creed,  but  it  formulates  itself 
in  character  and  in  deeds. 

Success  in  life  comes  from  believing  and  appre- 
hending the  great  facts  of  the  gospel  where  that 
gospel  is  known.  Or  success  in  life  comes  from 
accepting  the  inspiration  of  the  living  Spirit  medi- 
ated through  Christ  who  acts  beyond  the  bounds  of 
the  published  gospel.  There  is  no  other  true  and 
worthy  success  in  life. 

A  Christian  is  not  exempt  from  the  ordinary  con- 
ditions which  exist  in  the  world;  but  a  Christian 
who  has  in  him  eternal  life,  has  something  in  him- 
self which  transforms  all  things.  A  Christian  has 
temptation;  but  he  has  a  way  of  escape  from  temp- 
tation. To  him  temptation  is  an  opportunity  to 
rise  rather  than  to  fall.  A  Christian  has  trials;  but 
he  has  gracious  help  which  sustains  him  in  trials, 
and  through  trials,  he  is  made  strong.  None  but 
a  Christian  can  say,  "We  glory  in  tribulations."  A 
Christian  has  sorrow,  but  he  has  also  consolation. 
He  sorrows  not  as  the  rest  who  have  no  hope.  A 
Christian  has  disappointments,  but  he  has  an  abiding 
hope  of  better  things  which  God  has  provided.  A 
Christian  must  die;  but  to  him  death  has  lost  its 
sting  and  its  victory.  To  be  absent  from  the  body, 
is  to  be  present  with  the  Lord;  to  lose  this  body, 
is  to  receive  a  better  one;  to  depart  from  earth,  is 
to  dwell  in  heaven;  to  leave  things  temporal,  is  to 
enjoy  things  eternal.  Therefore,  if  you  would  truly 
succeed  in  life,  you  must  believe. 

Believe,  and  the  sky  will  bend  in  beauty,  and 
glow  with  glory  above  you  now.     Believe,  and  the 


248  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

truth  and  the  promises  of  God  will  illumine  your 
path  and  sustain  your  heart  and  strengthen  your 
soul  now.  Believe,  and  you  will  be  filled  with 
peace  and  power,  sanity  and  strength,  sweetness  and 
love,  hope  and  joy  now.  You  will  have  the  eternal 
life. 

But  eternal  life  will  find  its  fulfillment  and  its 
fruition  in  the  future,  beyond  the  grave  and  beyond 
the  present  order.  No  one  can  read  the  words  of 
Jesus  to  His  disciples  and  not  perceive  that  the 
future  and  not  the  present  was  the  object  of  hope. 
No  one  can  read  the  writings  of  the  New  Test- 
ament and  not  perceive  that  the  emphasis  of  reward 
is  laid  not  upon  the  present  life  but  upon  the  future 
life.  The  consummation  of  the  kingdom  is  not  upon 
earth  but  in  heaven. 

The  parables  of  Jesus  point  to  a  consummation. 
Life  is  to  be  followed  by  a  harvest  time  when  good 
and  evil  will  be  separated.  Life  leads  on  to  a  day 
of  reckoning  when  a  report  of  stewardship  and  ser- 
vice will  be  made.  Life  is  to  be  succeeded  by  shar- 
ing the  victory  and  the  reward,  the  blessedness  and 
the  glory  of  Him  with  whom  the  saints  have  suffer- 
ed. Saint  Paul  teaches  that  the  distinctions  between 
men  made  by  position,  possessions,  and  conditions 
are  of  little  moment  because  they  are  so  transient. 
Sufferings  are  short,  afflictions  for  a  moment,  and 
possessions  as  though  they  were  not  in  comparison 
with  the  power  and  the  possessions  and  joys  of 
eternity.  The  things  which  make  this  present  life  a 
time  of  trial  and  discipline,  of  suffering  and  sorrow 
will  pass  away.     They  will  be  replaced  by  a  state 


Eternal  Life  249 


in  which  pure  love,  perfect  power,  painless  exercise^ 
congenial  persons,  and  wholly  suitable  and  adjusted 
conditions  will  make  living  a  delight.  According 
to  the  revelation  of  the  New  Testament,  all  things 
which,  at  present,  occasion  pain  and  suffering  and 
sorrow  will  be  eliminated  and  only  such  things 
as  occasion  pleasure,  peace,  and  joy  will  be  found  in 
the  heavenly  home.  There,  the  mind  will  know  all 
necessary  truth.  There,  the  heart  will  be  satis- 
fied with  love.  There,  all  the  powers  possessed  will 
find  free  exercise.  There,  the  soul  in  all  its  great- 
ness will  be  satisfied. 

Who  will  compose  the  heavenly  society?  Will 
it  be  limited  to  them  who  have  heard  and  believed 
the  gospel?  Surely  not.  Jesus  has  said:  "Many 
shall  come  from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  shall 
sit  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  The  revelation  of  God's 
love  in  Christ  does  not  create  that  love.  The  pub- 
lication of  the  method  of  salvation  does  not  make 
the  method.  Sunlight  floods  many  a  valley  before 
the  sun  himself  appears  over  the  eastern  hills.  Sun- 
light fills  many  a  house  from  whose  windows  the 
sun  is  never  seen.  The  Son  of  God,  who  is  the 
Light  of  the  World,  sends  His  Spirit  to  many  who 
have  not  seen  His  face  nor  heard  His  voice.  Jesus 
says  that  every  one  who  is  of  the  truth  will  come  to 
His  light  and  will  hear  His  voice.  The  truth-loving 
man  will  see  and  know  and  love  Jesus  when  He  is 
revealed.  The  attitude  of  such  a  man  is  like  the 
attitude  of  the  Gentile  Cornelius  who  was  ready 
to  believe  the  gospel  and  to  confess  Christ  as  soon 


25P  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

as  they  were  made  known  to  him.  Not  intellectual 
knowledge  of  a  revelation  which  God  has  graciously 
given,  but  a  heart  ready  to  receive  that  revelation 
is  what  God  first  requires  and  approves.  Not 
knowledge  but  love  is  the  sign  of  life. 

Expressing  the  condition  of  eternal  life  in  terms  of 
natural  theology  and  natural  law,  Saint  Paul  has 
said  that  the  heavenly  society  will  be  composed  of 
all  "who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  have 
sought  for  glory  and  honor  and  immortality."  Ex- 
pressing the  condition  of  eternal  life  in  terms  of 
action  possible  among  all  nations,  Jesus  has  said  that 
the  eternal  society  will  be  composed  of  all  who  have 
lived  lovingly  and  have  given  ministrations  to  them 
in  need  and  thereby  have  been  followers  of  Him 
who  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  min- 
ister. Expressing  the  condition  of  eternal  life  in 
terms  of  faith  and  knowledge,  Jesus  has  said  that 
eternal  life  is  to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom 
He  has  sent. 

This  is  surely  a  broad  enough  basis  of  eternal  life 
for  all  men.  All  who  bow  before  the  majesty  of 
moral  truth,  however  revealed ;  all  who  believe  and 
obey  the  truth,  however  made  known;  all  who 
dwell  in  love  and  cherish  a  loving  heart;  all  who, 
like  Jesus,  have  the  spirit  of  service  and  who  accord- 
ing to  strength  and  opportunity  render  ministry,  will 
have  a  place  in  that  perfect  and  permanent  society. 

I  am  persuaded  also  that  of  those  who  live  where 
the  gospel  is  published,  there  are  many  who,  evident- 
ly, are  only  babes  in  Christ.  As  flowers  are  set  back 
and  chilled  in  the  spring  time  and  blossoming  is 


Eternal  Life  251 


delayed  by  an  unfavorable  atmosphere,  so  the  lives 
of  many  are  limited  by  unfavorable  circumstances. 
The  atmosphere  in  which  they  live  is  so  cold,  spirit- 
ually, their  own  powers  are  so  feeble,  the  burdens 
of  their  life  are  so  heavy  that  they  are  hindered  in 
growth.  One  may  fain  believe  that  many  a  har- 
rassed  man,  and  many  a  troubled  woman  having 
lived  under  great  limitations  and  with  few  oppor- 
tunities but  neither  denying  nor  doubting  the  love 
and  wisdom  of  God  but  trusting  in  a  very  simple 
faith,  will  blossom  out  in  fair  beauty  of  soul,  like 
a  transplanted  flower,  when  they  are  brought  into 
the  light  and  love  of  Christ  in  a  fairer  world. 

What  the  future  life  may  be  is  not  a  matter  of 
knowledge  but  of  hope. 

An  unhatched  eagle  has  lungs  fitted  to  breathe 
the  air,  eyes  which  will  pierce  space  in  glorious  vis- 
ion, wings  which  will  beat  the  air  with  strength,  and 
all  the  organs  necessary  for  its  life  when  it  shall 
leave  the  shell ;  but  the  unhatched  eagle  cannot  con- 
ceive the  form  and  nature  of  the  world  into  which 
it  is  so  soon  to  enter;  it  could  not  conceive  that 
world  even  though  its  mind  were  awake  and  intel- 
ligent. So  we,  though  we  possess  all  the  powers 
capable  of  entering  and  enjoying  the  future  life,  can- 
not know  now  what  its  form  and  circumstance  may 
be. 

The  revelations  given  to  us  in  the  scriptures  are 
adapted  to  our  present  condition.  They  are  por- 
trayed in  the  imagery  of  things  with  which  we  are 
familiar.  They  are  suggestive  and  satisfying.  These 
revelations  are  worth  our  study. 


252  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

The  future  dwelling  place,  according  to  Jesus, 
will  be  a  father's  house.  A  father's  house  is  a  home. 
It  is  a  place  where  one  is  loved  for  his  own  sake. 
It  is  a  place  where  every  want  is  anticipated  and 
every  desire  gratified.  It  is  a  place  of  rest,  shelter, 
friendship,  and  joy. 

The  future  dwelling  place,  according  to  Jesus, 
will  be  prepared  for  men.  "I  go,"  said  Jesus  to  his 
disciples,  "to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go 
and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and 
receive  you  unto  Myself;  that  where  I  am,  there 
ye  may  be  also."  As  a  bride  may  trust  her  hus- 
band to  prepare  a  home  for  her,  though  it  may  be 
beyond  the  sea ;  so  the  believer  may  trust  Jesus  to 
prepare  a  home  for  him,  though  it  be  far  beyond  his 
sight.  It  will  be  a  home  prepared  in  every  partic- 
ular to  meet  the  nature  and  the  wants  of  those  who 
shall  dwell  there. 

The  future  dwelling  place  is  described  as  a  city. 
The  children  of  faith,  it  is  written,  "look  for  a 
city  which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God."  "Wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed 
to  be  called  their  God ;  for  He  hath  prepared  for 
them  a  city."  This  is  a  "great  city  and  a  holy,  hav- 
ing the  glory  of  God."  This  is  a  very  suggestive 
title  and  figure.  A  city  is  the  most  complete  place 
of  abode  for  men  which  has  been  developed  upon 
earth.  A  city  is  the  place  of  greatest  safety,  con- 
venience, ministry,  and  comfort  upon  earth.  A  city 
is  the  most  completely  organized  society.  A  city 
is  a  place  where  every  want  is  anticipated,  every 
hunger    fed,    every    taste    gratified,    and    the   social 


Eternal  Life  253 


nature  satisfied. 

They  who  dwell  in  that  future  world  shall  be  like 
Christ  and  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.  Their  bodies,  it 
is  written,  "shall  be  fashioned  like  unto  His  glorious 
body."  These  bodies  are  described  as  incorrupti- 
ble, strong,  perfect,  and  immortal. 

On  the  negative  side,  all  the  weaknesses,  evils, 
sufiferings,  and  sorrows  of  this  present  earthly  life, 
shall  have  no  place  and  shall  not  be  found.  "They 
shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ; 
neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat." 
"God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes; 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor 
crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain." 

On  the  positive  side,  they  shall  be  clothed  in 
beauty  and  endowed  with  every  necessary  power. 
They  "shall  be  clothed  with  white  robes,"  which 
suggest  purity  and  beauty.  And  "the  Lamb  which 
is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them  and 
shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters." 

The  activities  and  occupations  of  the  future  life 
are  expressed  by  three  significant  terms.  They  wor- 
ship.    They  sing.     They  reign. 

They  worship.  Worship  is  the  perception  and 
admiration  of  physical  beauty  and  the  perception 
and  adoration  of  spiritual  excellence  and  glory.  All 
the  works  of  God  in  the  entire  universe  will  be  seen 
in  such  clearness  of  vision  that  the  perfection  of 
form  and  radiancy  of  beauty  will  awaken  constant 
delight  and  will  evoke  unceasing  praise.  God  Him- 
self in  the  surpassing  excellency  of  His  glory  will  be 
so  known  and  so  loved  as  to  evoke  the  joyful  ador- 


254  The  Secret  of  Successful  Life 

ation  of  all  saints  so  that  they  shall  ever  worship 
Him  as  the  angels  worship  who  say:  "Blessing, 
and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  hon- 
our, and  power,  and  might,  be  unto  our  God  for- 
ever." 

They  sing.  Music  is  the  language  of  the  heart, 
the  utterance  of  the  emotions,  the  voice  of  the  soul. 
Music  speaks  from  the  heart  and  speaks  to  the  heart. 
Music  is  alwaj'S  pure.  Song  is  music  wedded  to 
words.  Song  is  the  feeling  and  voice  of  the  heart 
filling  and  expressing  the  thought  of  the  mind. 
Song,  therefore,  is  the  highest  and  the  most  perfect 
expression  and  utterance  of  the  whole  personality. 
Song  gives  vent  and  voice  and  harmonious  and  per- 
fect form  to  all  the  feelings  and  inmost  powers  of 
the  saints.  Hence,  they  sing,  saying,  ''Great  and 
marvelous  are  Thy  works.  Lord,  God  Almighty; 
just  and  true  are  Thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints. 
Who  shall  not  fear  Thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy 
name?  for  Thou  only  art  holy." 

These  songs  of  the  saints  in  the  future  life  and  the 
heavenly  world  will  be  like  the  voice  of  many  wa- 
ters. In  them,  will  be  such  sweetness  and  such 
unity  that  it  will  be  as  though  the  languages  of 
every  land  and  race  speak  in  perfect  harmony. 

They  reign.  Reigning  suggests  the  exercise  of 
power  put  forth  in  wisdom  and  in  masterful  ways. 
They  who  reign  will  find  expression  and  scope  for 
all  their  powers.  Much  of  the  greatest  enjoyment 
in  life  comes  through  the  use  of  power.  Power  in 
that  future  life  will  not  be  wasted  and  lost  and  leave 
weariness;   but  power  will  be  put  forth  in  wisdom 


Eternal  Life  255 


and  with  delight,  and  will  be  used  in  regal  and 
kingly  ways  for  ends  beneficent  and  good.  Men 
will  think  and  act  and  achieve  with  intelligence,  ef- 
ficiency, and  joy.  **For  the  Lord  God  giveth  them 
light:  and  they  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

These  figures  of  worship  and  song  and  reigning 
suggest  that  the  eternal  life,  in  its  immortality,  will 
be  free  from  weakness,  from  weariness,  and  from 
pain.  They  suggest,  also,  that  love  and  thought 
and  the  power  of  will  shall  find  expression  in  ways 
congenial,  delightful  and  full  of  joy. 

All  who  by  faith  have  received  God's  greatest  gift 
of  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ  and  who,  through  that 
life,  have  controlled  the  flesh,  and  have  overcome 
the  world,  and  have  conquered  death  will  find,  at 
last,  that  they  have  achieved  success  and  are  satis- 
fied. 

They  who  by  faith  in  Christ  learn  from  Him  the 
spirit  of  sonship  will  be  heirs  with  Him  of  God's 
glorious  creation.  All  things  are  theirs;  for  they 
are  Christ's;   and  Christ  is  God's. 

They  will  be  a  joy  to  themselves.  They  will  be 
satisfied  with  their  society.  They  will  rejoice  for- 
ever in  the  light  and  love  of  God. 


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